


You and me against the world

by Cloakseeker



Category: Divergent (Movies), Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-13
Updated: 2016-01-18
Packaged: 2018-03-07 11:03:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 101
Words: 419,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3172140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cloakseeker/pseuds/Cloakseeker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Series. FourTris prevent the war. But before Jeanine goes down she reveals that Tris is divergent. What will the people in the factions say, when they find out? Will someone new take Jeanine's place and hunt down divergents? Will FourTris ever have a happy ending? Read and find out. I will update every Saturday. If you have questions or suggestions either write a review or PM me. Also, this story is connected to one-shots and drabbles. Follow me as a writer and you'll get all the goodies. You can also contact me via Tumblr christiwind.tumblr.com</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

1  
I can’t believe I survived initiation. All the initiates and the majority of Dauntless gathered in the Pit to wait and see the final rankings. I’m so nervous. I hope I made it. If not I truly have no idea what I’m going to do.  
Max appears and the crowd of Dauntless start to calm down. He gives a speech, but I’m not really able to listen to what he is saying. My heart is pounding in my chest and I swear it tries to jump out. I take deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself, but soon realize that it’s futile. Until I see my name on the rankings board telling me I made it into Dauntless nothing could calm me. I close my eyes unable to look at the board anymore. I failed. I surely failed and now I’m Factionless.  
I hear cheering and someone hugging me. I open my eyes and find Christina’s face just inches away from mine. Her eyes are sparkling and she has the brightest smile plastered on her face I’ve ever seen.  
“We did it” she shouts over the noise the other Dauntless make. She probably means she and Will made it. There’s no chance I made it. But then I force myself to look at the board and my mouth falls open when I see my name on top of the list. I can’t believe it. I ranked first. Christina congratulates me and then turns to face Will. They kiss, rather sloppily for my taste, and I turn away from them when I feel a light tap on my shoulder. I turn around to look up into Tobias’s dark blue eyes and smile.  
“Would it give away to much if I would hug you?” he asks smiling down at me.  
“You know what?” I ask grabbing his collar “I really don’t care” I say before kissing him in front of the whole Dauntless crowd. When we break apart Christina turns me around to face her, shock all over her face.  
“What? When? How?” she asks stuttering.  
“I’ll explain everything later” I assure her. Before she manages to say something Will comes to me and gives me a hug congratulating me and I do the same. One by one both friends and strangers walk up to me and shake my hand or give me a hug telling me that I did a great job.   
After what seems like an eternity the crowd calms down and from my peripheral I see Eric glaring at me. I force myself not to look toward him, but end up doing it anyway. Our eyes meet and he suddenly gives me an evil grin. I shudder involuntarily and Tobias hugs me from behind.   
“Are you alright?” he ask a little concerned.  
“Yeah. I’m fine” I say not taking my eyes of Eric. We still stare at each other and I know that he will do everything he can to make my life miserable.  
“I’ll put an end to this” I hear Tobias say. As he unwraps his arms from around me I grab his hand before he can walk over to Eric. I’m sure he would punch him, but Eric is one of our leaders and I don’t want Tobias to get in any trouble.  
“Just ignore him” I say and place my hand on his cheek. He leans in and looks down at me. I smile and he relaxes a little bit. He leans down and kisses me and we get carry away.   
Suddenly the Dauntless become quite as Max explains that for security reasons we all need to be injected with tracking devices. It seems odd to do that and think of a way to get out of the Pit, but unfortunately I get pushed forward and momentarily loose Tobias. I look around to see if I can get a glimpse of where he might be when I feel a sudden sting in the left side of my neck. I turn around and see Eric grinning at me.  
“Everyone needs to get a tracker even you Stiff” he says glaring at me.  
I put my hand to where the needle penetrated my skin and rub the place. Tobias finally appears seemingly out of nowhere and wraps me in his arms.  
The next thing I know is I have a terrible headache. Tobias looks at me concerned. I try to dismiss the pain, but it seems that it only increases the more I try to ignore it.   
I know the pain though. I had it a few times in the past. And it always means trouble. I close my eyes focusing on the place the headache started. I feel myself drift and I am suddenly enveloped by darkness. I can feel Tobias wrapping his arms around me trying to hold me up, but my body slumps into him motionless. I can’t explain it, but while my body stopped moving my mind races faster than ever. My eyes are closed and yet I see better than ever. I feel myself leaving my body and rush through the crowd of Dauntless that started to form a circle around my unconscious form. I see Tobias trying to wake me up, but I don’t move. He lifts me up and rushes me to the infirmary. I want to follow but something is holding me back. I turn around and see Max standing now next Eric. They ignore what happened to me and walk away. I follow them.  
When we reach a door Max pulls out a key and opens it. It’s an office. Maybe Max’s. They both enter and I follow them.  
“Is everything ready?” Max asks.  
“Yes. Everyone has been injected with the serum. As soon as Jeanine arrives we can start the war simulation” Eric explains. War simulations? What on Earth is going on?  
I remember this morning Tobias telling me about Erudite bringing into Dauntless computers and serums over the past few weeks. I wonder if those have anything to do with the conversation I’m listening in right now.  
I have to find out more. It’s been a while since I last did this, but I have to find out what is going on. I approach Eric and touch his hand. He shivers slightly but doesn’t say or do anything. After all, what could he do? As far as he knows a cold current of air just hit his hand. I concentrate and search through his memories. It’s amazing. I can see him growing up in Erudite, his parents and friends. Jeanine approaching him shortly before his choosing ceremony, telling him about the Divergent and the importance of eliminating them. I see him during his initiation, his fight with Tobias, him becoming a Dauntless leader and plotting to destroy Abnegation. Oh my god, they want to kill all of Abnegation. I have to warn them. But I need proof.   
Come on, Eric, show me where I can find all the evidence to prove that you and that bitch Jeanine are plotting to kill innocent people. Eric’s mind races to his office and I can see his computer turning on, I see the file with the war plans and everything related to the plot. A list of names of those involved. I need to tell Tobias to make a copy of the files and hand them to the council. But I need to warn Abnegation first. Time is of the essence here.  
I let go of Eric’s hand and focus on my mother’s face. I suddenly find myself in my old house. My parents are sitting on the couch watching a younger version of me and Caleb play on the floor. It must be a dream. My mom’s dreaming. I call her and she looks up.  
“Mom” I say.  
“Beatrice?” she asks incredulous. We have done this before. At first it happened because I couldn’t control it, but in time I managed to.  
“Mom, I’m here. I’m really here. Listen, I don’t have time. Erudite, Jeanine, they are going to kill Abnegation using a serum to force the Dauntless attacking you. Here, touch my hand” I stretch my hand out and she grabs it. At first we could only do this while awake. Now I’m able to share my thoughts with her while in this “in between” state as I call it. My mom gasps and forces herself to wake up. Our connection breaks and I open my eyes.   
The bright light in the room forces me to close my eyes again. Where am I?  
“Tris?” I hear Tobias whisper my name. “Please, open your eyes” he begs. I force myself to open them and I see his face only inches away from mine. He smiles a forced smile, worry clear on his handsome features.  
“Four” I say, not sure if we are alone “I need to talk to you. It’s important.” I try to get up but he pushes me back down.  
“No, you have to rest. You fainted” he explains. He doesn’t know that I already know that.  
“I need to get up. Please” I insist. He gives up on trying forcing me back down. “I need a favor” I say looking around to see if we are alone. Fortunately, we are. “You need to get to Eric’s office and copy a file. It’s imperative that you do.” He opens his mouth to argue, but there’s no time to waste. “Remember what you showed me just this morning?” I ask and he nods in understanding. “Erudite is planning to kill everyone in Abnegation using the serum and a very elaborate war simulation. Don’t ask me how I know, just trust me that I do. Please, we need to stop them. Abnegation is warned” he raises his eyebrows indicating that he thinks I’ve gone nuts. “I promise, I’m telling you the truth. Do you trust me?” I ask, suddenly very aware of the fact that he might not. Or at least not while I sound like a crazy person.  
“I do” he answers without hesitation. “Stay here. Don’t move” he asks me and I nod in agreement.  
I hope he can get the files. I close my eyes and focus on my mom.  
“Mom” I say in my head “can you hear me?”  
“Yes, Beatrice. I’ve alerted your father and he alerted the Abnegation and City Council. Everyone in Abnegation is being evacuated as we speak” she tells me. A wave of relief washes over me.  
“What did you say when they asked you about why it needs to be done?”  
“I told them your father’s phone rang. He was asleep so I answered. Someone that I didn’t recognized told me that some Erudite planned on attacking Abnegation using drugged Dauntless. Considering that for the past few months Erudite published several articles attacking us it didn’t take long for Marcus and the other City councilmen to react.” At the mention of Tobias’s father I flinch. She doesn’t know that behind his perfect Abnegation façade lies a monster that tortured Tobias for years and haunts him even now.  
“Please get out of their as soon as possible. I don’t know when exactly they plan on attacking. I’ve send someone to retrieve information that will prove that Erudite, not all of them, planned on doing this.”  
“That’s good. Marcus, your father and a few others went to Candor headquarters to tell them about the attack. I don’t know if they will believe them or not but at least they are made aware of the situation. Are you all right?” she asks me, clearly concerned.   
“Yes. I just need to rest. I’m waiting for the person who I’ve send to retrieve the information” I assure my mom.  
“I think it would be good if we would have some prove from Erudite. Have you tried contacting your brother?”   
“I haven’t yet, but I will. Please, be safe mom.”  
“I will and you keep safe as well. I love you, my brave girl.”  
I open my eyes and see Tobias entering my room, followed closely by a dark-skinned man.  
“Tris, this is Zeke. He’s my best friend. He helped me with you know what” he tells me rather quickly.  
“We’ve met” Zeke says. I look closer at him and recognize him.  
“Yes, we have. You are Uriah’s brother, aren’t you?” I ask, pretty sure I’m right.  
“Yeah, I am. Good to see you again and congrats on ranking first” he says with a warm smile.  
“Tris, you were right” Tobias cuts in a bit abruptly.   
“Do you have the proof?” I ask.  
“Yes. We need to get out of here.” Just as he finishes his sentence we turn to look at Zeke, who changed visibly. His eyes are unfocused and he is unresponsive. Tobias shakes him, but he seems passed out, only he is standing on his own two feet. I realize what’s happening and Tobias seems to get the picture as well.  
“Come on, we need to get out of here without being seen” he says.  
“We need to go to Candor. The City council members are there alerting the other factions of what’s going on” I explain.  
“How?” he asks.   
“I will explain everything later. I promise. But right now we need to get out of here.”


	2. Chapter 2

2  
Tobias gets us safely out of Dauntless and we make our way to Candor hiding in the shadows of the night. Every now and then we hear something and take cover. Unfortunately, we couldn’t chance to get to the training room to grab some weapons, so right now we are pretty much defenseless.   
It takes us nearly 90 minutes to get to the Merciless Mart, Candor headquarters, but we are finally here. Tobias checks the area for unseen dangers, but I highly doubt there is anyone other than us here. When he is satisfied that the path is clear we make our way into the Candor HQ lobby. To our surprise both my parents and Tobias’s father, along with several council members and Candor and Amity members await us. Tobias stops abruptly when he sees his father, but I touch his Dauntless tattoo telling him to be brave. He looks at me and I smile. He grabs my hand and we approach the large group.  
“Beatrice, thank god you are alright” my mom says hugging me close to her.   
“Hey, mom. I can’t breathe” I say a little breathless. She let’s go of me and looks down at my and Tobias’s joined hands. She looks into my eyes and smiles.  
“And who’s this?” she asks clearly meaning Tobias.  
“Uhm, right. This is Four. My boyfriend” I tell her.  
“We actually met, Mrs. Prior, on visitation day. I want to apologize for my behavior that day” he says, looking a little ashamed.   
“Don’t worry, Four. I understand. I won’t say anything” she says, hinting that she full well knows who he really is “but there is someone here that might not keep it to himself when he sees you.”  
We all know who she is talking about. In her mind she probably thinks that Marcus will rush to Tobias hugging him tightly, forgiving him for betraying Abnegation and choosing Dauntless. But I know better.  
“Tobias” I hear Marcus say as he approaches us.  
“My name is Four” Tobias says sternly.  
“What kind of a name is that?” Marcus asks, venom in his voice, but he quickly changes his demeanor as to not let others know he’s true nature. “That’s a number not a name, son.”  
“I’m not your son anymore. And it’s Four. If you call me any different I won’t answer” Tobias stands his ground.  
“Alright have it your way” Marcus says in defeat.  
“Could somebody please tell me what is going on?” a Candor man asks.  
“This is Jack Kang, one of Candor’s leaders” my mom explains.  
“Beatrice” my father approaches me and pulls me into a bear hug. I thought I would never see him again. And I would have never expected him to hug me the way he does in this moment.   
“Dad” I say relieved that both he and mom are safe and sound.  
“I like family reunions as much as the next person, but could we please get back on track here” I hear Jack Kang say.  
“Yes. My apology” my dad says. “Let’s go somewhere we can talk.”  
“Follow me” Jack says. We all follow him through the black and white halls of Candor HQ until we arrive at a big, black, wooden door with a white scale painted on it. Jack opens the door and enters the room, followed closely by his fellow Candor members, the Amity, the council members, Tobias and me.   
The room is circular, like an amphitheatre with a podium in the middle. We all sit down in the first row of chairs. I sit next to my mom on my left and Tobias to my right. He deliberately chose the last chair n the right to avoid anyone else, especially his father, to sit next to him. Next to my mom sits my dad, then the other council members, the Candor, the Amity and the last two chairs are occupied by Jack Kang and Marcus Eaton.  
“It was brought to my attention earlier tonight that Erudite plans on attacking Abnegation using the Dauntless” Marcus starts to speak. “To be honest, I’m still not entirely convinced that this is even true. Nevertheless, the Abnegation council and I have made arrangements for the residents of Abnegation to take refuge in Amity. Shortly before our Dauntless liaisons arrived” he points toward Tobias and me “I got word that everyone has safely arrived in Amity.”  
“I would like to know if any of this is true” Jack Kang stands up facing Marcus.  
“I can’t tell you for certain it is…” Marcus starts, but is interrupted when Tobias gets up and speaks.  
“I can. I have here” he shows the flash drive he used to copy the file from Eric’s computer “proof that Erudite conspired with the Dauntless leaders to inject a simulation serum into the Dauntless members and start a war against Abnegation. The serum is a new one that is long-range. If I’ve hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it” Tobias explains.  
“What do you mean you’ve seen it?” Jack Kang asks.  
“Over the past few months Erudite brought crates filled with vials with a orange serum in them. The simulation serum used for the fear landscapes is clear, so obviously this serum is used for something entirely different. Also, they brought computers and several devices, that are currently locked up somewhere in Dauntless” Tobias says.  
“Before we left Dauntless they must have turned on the simulation because those who were injected suddenly started acting weird. They started marching in sync and were unresponsive. We decided to leave before anyone could see us” I add to his story.  
“How exactly is it that the two of you are not under this alleged simulation?” Jack asks.   
“Because we weren’t injected” Tobias answers, which is a lie, at least in my case. “One of our leaders, Max, announced after the rankings were made public, that for security reasons every Dauntless will be injected with a tracker. I recognized the vials and knew that something was up. I work in the control room and I’m rather good with computers. Because of what I’ve observed over the past few months I started let’s say observing our leaders a little bit closely. I witnessed several arrivals of Jeanine Matthews at Dauntless and also some non-Dauntless running around the compound. Even though they were dressed in black you could tell they were Erudite. My guess, they were preparing for this a while now. Tris and I took advantage of the commotion created by Max’s announcement and avoided successfully being injected with the serum.”  
“But how did you figure it out so quickly? Who informed Abnegation of the attack?” an older Candor asks.  
“I contacted my mother” I say.  
“You told me it was an anonymous tip” Marcus says to my mother.  
“I asked her to do that. Would you have believed her if she would have told you that it was me?” I ask glaring at Marcus. “Allow me to answer – you wouldn’t have. I’ve seen a few strange things two and earlier tonight, thanks to all the fuss happening in Dauntless because of the welcoming party of the new members Max and Eric got careless and I managed to overhear a conversation. They talked about all this and said it would happen tonight. I contacted my mom as soon as I could and asked Four to break into Eric’s office to retrieve the file. But I promise you, the attack is happening. Every Dauntless that was injected with the serum is on his way now to Abnegation. We saw them heading to the tracks, boarding the train” I tell everyone my side of the story. Sort of.  
“Let’s say we believe you young lady” Jack starts and I fight the urge to roll my eyes “where would these criminals be? From where are they controlling the Dauntless?”  
“Erudite, obviously” Marcus states, as if he knew that for a fact.  
“I doubt that” Tobias interjects.  
“Why?” an Amity woman asks.  
“The Dauntless compound is a fortress. If they are going to do it anywhere it’s there. Otherwise why bring all the computers and Erudite to Dauntless?” Tobias points out.  
“I think he is right” my dad agrees.  
“Then what should we do?” Marcus asks everyone.  
“Most of Dauntless is in Abnegation right now leaving the compound basically defenseless” I say.  
“There will be guards but not as many as on a normal day. We could take them out and take control over the compound again” Tobias says.  
“How do you suggest we do that?” Jack asks.  
“Candor has well trained guards, right?” Tobias asks Jack specifically. Jack nods and seems to understand. “If Candor guards help us we can take control over the compound again and arrest the conspirators. Jeanine is most likely at Dauntless, but Max and Eric and probably the other Dauntless leader are in Abnegation supervising the mission.” Everyone agrees.  
“We have to move quick though. Abnegation was evacuated., It won’t take long till they find out that there is no one there to kill. They will return to Dauntless and there’s no way we could fight that many manipulated Dauntless. We need to move now” I basically yell the last part.  
“Young lady, that’s neither a way to behave nor to speak” Marcus scolds me.  
“I’m Dauntless” I just say. That makes him shut up for once. He knows I don’t give a crap on what he says.  
“Fine” he says in theatrical defeat.  
“Mr. Kang, could you please call your guards to help us. Tris and I know how to get back in, but we have to move now” Tobias addresses Jack.  
Jack takes out his phone and talks to someone on the other line. He left the group to be able to talk privately and I’m not sure if I like it or not. Maybe I’m overly cautious. He returns a moment later telling us that his best men will meet us in the lobby in five minutes. He also tells us that they would bring additional weapons for all of us who choose to return to Dauntless.  
We all go to the lobby and greet the Candor guards who as promised brought additional weapons. I take a rifle and two knives, while Tobias takes a rifle, a handgun and ammo for both his weapons and mine. Jack decides to join us. My mom wants to come to, saying that coming from Dauntless she knows her way around but I tell her not to. My dad holds her by her shoulders and comforts her. He even tries to talk me out of returning to Dauntless.  
“Beatrice, it’s too dangerous to go” he tells me, after we walked away from the crowd.  
“I’ll be fine, dad. I’ve trained for situation like this one. Besides, my place is next to Four” I proudly say.  
“Four? He is a traitor” my father says in a low voice.  
“He’s not!” I say angry. Fortunately, no one heard me. I don’t want other people listening in on our conversation. “Why would you say that? Because he left Abnegation in pursuit of his own happiness? If that’s the case then you must think the exact same thing about me” I say, only now realizing that he actually might see me as one.  
“No, Beatrice. I don’t think that you are a traitor” my father says, hanging his head.  
“Then why say he is?” I prompt.  
“Well, he left Marcus and…” my father starts.  
“And what? So did I and Caleb. And he left because of Marcus” I say, but as soon as the words come out of my mouth I regret them. It’s not the right place or time to discuss this. In fact, I shouldn’t discuss this at all. But it upsets me that people think that Tobias is a traitor, when he only did what he did to protect himself from his abusive father.  
“I hope you don’t believe the lies Erudite tell about Marcus” he defends.  
“No, I don’t believe lies. But I saw first hand what Marcus is capable of. Four took me through his fear landscape” I pause and look at mom, she knows what I mean “ask mom to explain to you what that means. I have to go. My boyfriend needs me” I say.  
“Boyfriend?” my father asks incredulous, but I don’t stick around to explain myself.  
I join Tobias and the others and we prepare to leave. Jack Kang decides to join us, as does Marcus. Even though I hate his guts for what he did to Tobias I have to admit it would be better to have the City Council head with us when we arrest Jeanine and all the other conspirators.  
We exit the lobby and two large trucks wait for us just outside the building. We all get in and within minutes we reach the compound. I take deep breaths, trying to calm myself.  
“It’ll be ok. I’m right here with you” Tobias assures me and he helps. It really helps. Knowing that he is with me gives me knew strength and courage to do this.  
When we finally reach the compound we get out of the trucks and Jack asks Tobias to lead the way. For a moment Tobias seems lost, taking several turns and stopping abruptly in front of me, making me bump into him.  
“What is it?” I ask as quietly as possible.  
“I know where they are” he says turning around.  
“What do you mean?” Jack asks.  
“I know the most likely place for them to hide” Tobias says. He turns around and at the first junction he turns right, then left, then right again and I suddenly know where we are. During the second week of initiation Christina, Will, Al and I went exploring the compound. When we got here two of the most frightening Dauntless guards practically cut us to pieces by just looking at us. Clearly they were guarding something no one was supposed to know of. Back then I had no clue what they were guarding, but now it makes perfect sense. And Tobias was right. In front of a large metal door are the same two Dauntless with a rifle each making sure no one gets in. Tobias turns around and makes a hand gesture so that we all gather around him.   
“There are two guards on the outside. There probably some on the inside. We need to be quick and make as little noise as possible” he whispers. He then lays out his plan and we all get into position. Tobias steps out of the shadows and starts firing toward the guards that stand between us and the door.


	3. Chapter 3

3  
I don’t know if it’s luck or skill, but Tobias takes both guards by surprise and they don’t even get a chance to point their rifle at him. He rushes to them and takes their weapons. Two of the Candor guards handcuff the Dauntless guards and we all follow Tobias inside. The room is long and surprisingly empty. If it wouldn’t had been for the guards outside the door I would have dismissed this room completely upon entering. Seems like Jeanine isn’t as smart as she thinks she is.  
We see large thick wires running along the floor and we decide following them. They are for electricity, so wherever they lead is probably where we will find Jeanine and her Erudite lackeys.  
My theory proves to be correct. At the end of a long dark corridor is a room filled with computers and on the screens I can see the Dauntless marching through Abnegation. It seems they’ve just arrived there and start searching one house after the other. Jeanine is standing in front of one large screen.  
“I don’t understand. Where are they?” she says, clearly frustrated that her zombie Dauntless couldn’t find anyone in Abnegation to slaughter.  
“They are safe” Tobias says entering the room pointing the gun on Jeanine.  
“How did you get in here?” she asks confused by his sudden appearance. “Never mind. Get him” she orders two Erudite men with handguns. Tobias is quicker and shoots the guns out of their hands.  
“It’s futile. You can’t stop this” Jeanine says laughing.  
“Really?” Tobias asks mockingly.  
“Yes. Erudite will win. By the end of this day Erudite will lead this city into a new era of progress” she says. I put my hand out to stop Marcus from going in. I get what Tobias is doing. His making her confess her crimes without even trying to move a muscle.  
“And how do you think you can do that?” he asks, faking interest.  
“You see this” Jeanine says pointing at the Dauntless on the screen “they are my puppets and I am their puppeteer. I command and they obey my every wish.”  
“Really? How did you convince them to join your sick plan?”  
“Convince? Oh, no. They are under a simulation. You see this vials over there” she points toward a crate filled with the same vials Tobias showed me just this morning. “The serum in there is one of my greatest accomplishments. You see I wanted to expand the control range of the serum. And I succeeded. And what better way of trying it out than by using it on this brainless fools” she says laughing.  
“Well, turn it off and delete the program” Tobias says clenching his teeth.  
“Delete it? I will not. And you won’t be able to do a thing about it.”  
“Will see. I will stop you.”  
“Really? You and what army?” Jeanine asks mockingly and I know it’s the perfect time to come out of the shadows.  
“This army” I say as I jump out from where I was hiding, followed by the Candor guards.  
“Jeanine Matthews, you are under arrest for attempted murder on everyone in Abnegation, manipulating the Dauntless and conspiracy to overthrow the government” Marcus says with satisfaction in his voice.  
“You can’t do that!” Jeanine shouts as a Candor guard puts her in handcuffs  
“Yes, we can” Jack says.  
“Shut down the program” I say.  
“You? You little bitch. It was you” she says to me, venom filling her voice.  
“Shut the program” I repeat.  
“I won’t. Can’t you see that what I did was to protect our city?” she says addressing Marcus and Jack.  
“Protecting our city from what?” Jack asks her.  
“The Divergent. There are everywhere. They will destroy our way of life” she says and I suddenly am afraid she might know that I’m divergent.  
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jeanine” Marcus says.  
“I’m not. They are trying to take over our city” she continues to plead, but it seems the more she insists the more they dismiss her reasoning. I need to make her shut down the program. As long as it is running we are in danger. The Dauntless don’t know what they are doing. If someone would order them to kill us they would. If someone would order them to kill each other they would. I need to make her shut down the program. But how?  
I look around and see a vial with the simulation serum on the desk to my left. I grab it and set in into the injection device. I get close to Jeanine who is still desperately trying to convince everyone that she is acting in the city’s best interest and the Divergent are to blame for all this. It makes me sick. While she is distracted I plunge the needle into her neck and inject her with the serum. I look toward Marcus and Jack who just look shocked at what I did. Jeanine turns around astonished and when her eyes lose focus I know she can’t control herself anymore.  
“Shut down the simulation and wipe the program” I order. Tobias takes the keys to Jeanine’s handcuffs from one of the Candor guards and releases her hands. She turns to the main computer and pushes several keys until I can see on the screens in the room that the Dauntless, who are still in Abnegation, slowly regain consciousness. They seem confused as to why they are even there, but other than that they are fine. I see some of them returning to the tracks. And then I see them. Max and Eric look confused. They don’t know what happened here, but they must have figured something went wrong, because they suddenly leave Abnegation, running toward the city, not the train tracks. Great! Now we have to look for them.  
Jeanine returns to her normal self once the program is successfully shut down and deleted. She tries to recover her data but everything she’s trying is in vain. She lost on so many levels today.  
She turns around and I can see pure hatred in her eyes.  
“You!” she shouts. She launches herself toward me, but I punch her in the face, knocking her out.  
“Nice right hook” Jack compliments.  
“Thanks. Four taught me that during initiation” I say and turn to look at Tobias. He smiles at me warmly.  
“Arrest everyone in here and get them transferred to Candor” Jack orders his men. He lets us take three of his men to check the rest of the compound for other Erudite.  
After we check the compound twice most of the Dauntless have returned to the compound confused and angry that no one seems to tell them what happened. Tobias and I decide to gather everyone in the Pit to tell them what happened, including how their own leaders offered the whole Faction to Erudite as guinea pigs.  
Tobias gets on one of the rocks and grabs the microphone Zeke prepared. No one other than me and Tobias know what happened last night and during the early hours today.  
“My fellow Dauntless, please stay calm and listen” Tobias starts. When there are still people talking Tobias puts his most frightening Four face on and yells into the microphone “SHUT UP.”  
Everyone seems to have heard that. I for sure did. Every pair of eye is now focused on Tobias and I’m thankful I don’t have to stand where he stands right now.  
“Last night our leaders told us that for security reasons we will all be injected with a tracker.” Most of the Dauntless nod. “That was a lie. It wasn’t a tracker. I have witnessed for the past several weeks how our leaders allowed Erudite members to enter our compound and deposit computers and other hardware and also crates filled with vials, containing a special serum. The serum is a simulation serum similar to the one we use in the fear landscape, yet makes us believe that what we are doing is right when in fact our actions are wrong. With help of a program Jeanine Matthews, head of Erudite, send out the command to all the Dauntless who got injected to gear up and march on Abnegation killing everyone there.” Tobias stops for a moment to let the information sink in. I look into the crowd and some people looked confused, outraged or simply can’t believe their ears. “Fortunately, Abnegation was warned in time and the whole Faction was successfully transferred to a safe place, that wasn’t disclosed.” Well, that’s not true. We know where they are. But if there are still traitors among us they better not know that. “With the help of our City Council and Candor leader Jack Kang and some brave men from Candor we managed to arrest Jeanine Matthews, who operated right from here, from this compound” Tobias says pointing around to emphasize his words. “Even though some of the conspirators have been arrested there are still others at large. As far as I know, our five leaders are still somewhere out there in the city. I won’t order you, since I’m just one like you, but I will ask you to help me wash the name of our Faction clean. It is outrageous that they would use an entire Faction to kill another one. I’m not looking for revenge, I’m looking for justice. Whoever wants to join me is welcome. We need as many as we have to find them and bring them to Candor headquarters where they will be tried for treason” Tobias finishes his speech. I expected them to keep a moment of silence and reflect, but instead they cheer as they always do.  
“Let’s find those bastards” one man shouts from the middle of the crowd.  
“Yeah, they will pay for what they did to us and our Faction” another joins in.  
“Lead us, Four” a third one starts chanting and soon the whole Pit chants his name. I have to admit, I’m very proud of him right now. He is a born leader.  
It takes a while until those who want to go looking for the Dauntless leader organize into smaller groups. Thanks to the electronic shop who offers walkie-talkies for the groups to stay in touch more easily Tobias divides the crowd into seven groups. One group is designated to search the Factionless sector, another one searches Abnegation, a third searches the Amity farms, two groups stay behind searching and protecting the Dauntless compound and the remaining two are send to search Erudite. Jack Kang promised Tobias he would send his best men to search Candor for the escaped Dauntless leaders. Also, I made sure that every faction knew that we were looking for dangerous criminals and everyone promised they would cooperate with us when we come searching.  
I’m on Tobias’s team together with Will, Christina, Uriah, Zeke and a few others I still don’t know. We chose to search Erudite, since neither Tobias nor me trust anyone else for this task. We go to the train tracks and jump on the train. It takes us at least fifteen minutes until we reach Erudite headquarters. Tobias stands near the door, while the others sat down on either the benches or the floor. I walk to Tobias who is so deep in thought that he doesn’t even see me even when I’m standing right in front of him.  
“Penny for your thought” I say, trying to lighten the mood.  
“What?” he asks snapping out of his thoughts.  
“It’s an old saying. Means I would pay to know what you are thinking” I explain. He smiles down at me and wraps one arm around me.  
“I was just thinking about the last twenty four hours. Seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?” he asks, but I’m not sure if the question was actually meant for me.  
“Yeah” I just say. “Tobias” I whisper his name “when this is over I need to tell you something. Something important. Something about me. Something you might not like. Something that maybe would make you not like me anymore” the last words come out as a pitiful whisper and I have to look away, afraid to look him in the eyes. He puts his right index finger under my chin and pushes slightly upward, making me look into his beautiful dark blue eyes. His look is serious, but also kind.  
“There’s nothing you could tell me that would make me not like you. In fact, there is nothing in this world that would make me stop loving you” he says and my breath catches in my throat. He loves me?  
“You love me?” I ask shyly.  
“Yes, Beatrice” he uses my given name, but I don’t mind. It sounds sweet coming from his lips. “I love you” he confesses. My eyes tear up and I have to swallow hard pass the lump in my throat to tell him that I love him too.  
“I love you too, Tobias.” He smiles and then leans down and kisses me gently on the lips. It’s sweet and loving and warm and I feel a million butterflies in my tummy and I’m so happy right now I could jump up and down. Too soon he pulls away and I automatically pout. He smiles and leans close to my ear “we are there”.  
I look outside and see the tall building that is the Erudite headquarter. We all jump off the train and walk confident toward the entrance. Upon our arrival we are greeted by one of the Erudite representatives. We are allowed to search the whole building and then the adjacent ones. We are still in the main building when one of our teams report that they found two of our leaders hiding in the Factionless sector. After another hour Jack Kang calls Tobias and tells him they found another one hiding in Candor. By the time we reach the last few apartments of the Erudite members another team, the one that went to Amity reports they found Max and the forth Dauntless leader. Which leaves only Eric. Chances are he is hiding here. He came from Erudite after all and he conspired with them to kill members of Abnegation and basically manipulate an entire faction into doing their bidding.  
There five apartments left and I feel increasingly nervous about this whole situation. Even though I know that Tobias is much stronger and a better fighter than Eric you can never know what tricks this son of a bitch will use to escape. I force myself to concentrate on Eric to visualize where he is. When we reach his parents apartment I stop Tobias from knocking. I pull him aside and he furrows his brows at me.  
“Don’t” I say.  
“What? What is it?” he asks a little angry.  
“He’s not there” I say.  
“What? How do you know?” he asks.  
“Call it female intuition or gut feeling, but he is not in there. He is hiding in the apartment next to his parents. Call Uriah and Zeke and tell them to search the apartment while we search the one next to theirs. He will probably wait until a team enters his parents home to make a run for it” I explain and while I do I realize how far-fetched it sounds. But I know I’m right. Tobias sighs and calls Uriah and Zeke to meet us here.  
“We’re here” Zeke says as soon as they reach us.  
“You two check Eric’s parents apartment, while Tris and I search the one next to theirs. These two are the last ones. If he’s not in one of them he is not here anymore, but I don’t want to give that bastard a chance to escape” Tobias tells them.  
We wait for Zeke and Uriah to be let into the apartment before we practically break into the next apartment. But I was right. In the middle of the room stands a shocked Eric who doesn’t really get how it is that we are here when he clearly heard us knock on the neighboring door. He doesn’t remain motionless for long. He grabs his gun from the table next to him and fires at us.


	4. Chapter 4

4

The moment I hear the first shot I freeze. I'm afraid. I'm paralyzed with fear. Not for myself, but for the one I love. He stands in front of me, shielding me from harm. But if anything would happen to him, I would die. I know that now that his life is in danger. Everything happens so fast that I think this is it. I've lost him. But he stands tall, still shielding me and I look toward Eric. He fell to the floor surrounded by a pool of his own blood. I stare in disbelief at the unconscious form lying there and I'm only pulled out of my own thoughts when Tobias wraps me in his arms. I put my arms around his shoulders and pull him closer to me until I swear we occupy the same space. I bury my face in his chest breathing in his scent. I can only hear Zeke and Uriah enter the room calling for an ambulance to get Eric to the hospital. While Uriah calls the ambulance Zeke calls the other members of our group letting them know where we are and what happened. They all come rushing toward us. Zeke and Uriah successfully keep Eric's parents outside, while one of the Dauntless in our group make sure that Eric doesn't bleed out until the ambulance arrives.

I find myself crying. Not because of Eric. Even though I don't wish anyone death, not even him, I cry because of everything that happened. Because of everything that might have gone wrong. It could have been Tobias lying on the ground and not Eric. He could be bleeding out now. At that thought I grab Tobias even tighter. He runs his hand up and down my back trying to comfort me. He must think I'm crazy.

"Shh, it's ok. It's over" he whispers in my ear. I shake my head no. No, it's not over. This is only the beginning. I'm still sobbing when the ambulance arrives and after the paramedics take Eric to the hospital I finally let go of Tobias. I look up into his eyes and he brushes the tears away.

"I could have lost you" I say still sobbing. "I don't ever want to lose you. Promise me you won't ever do that again" I ask him.

"I can't do that. He would have hurt you. I'd rather die than let anyone hurt you" he says solemnly.

"And you think I could live without you, especially knowing that you did it to save me?" I ask, suddenly angry at him.

"Calm down, Tris" he tries to sooth me.

"I can't! I love you. Promise me you won't ever put your life at risk like that" I ask him again.

"You know I can't."

"Then at least promise me you will always do your best to make it back to me. I don't want to lose you" I say as new tears spill over my cheeks.

"I promise. But you have to promise me never to do anything stupid either. I don't want you to get hurt. I love you too much" he says before he kisses me. When he pulls away I say "I promise". We walk out of the apartment, Tobias putting his arm over my shoulder holding me close to him, while I wipe the last tears away from my face. Zeke and Will went with the ambulance to make sure Eric is fine and can't escape. The others, Tobias and I return to the tracks and wait for the train. I see Christina and Uriah trying to come near me, but Tobias tells them in his most intimidating Four voice to back off and give me some space. I hate being this weak especially in front of other Dauntless. The train finally comes around the corner and we all start running alongside the tracks and jump on. The ride to Dauntless seems longer than ever. I can't wait to get back, take a shower and get some sleep. Although I doubt I would be able to get all of that in the dorm.

"Tobias" I whisper so that only he can hear me.

"Yes."

"Would you mind if I would take a shower at your place and maybe take a nap. I feel exhausted" I say shyly.

"Of course, it's ok. I actually wanted to ask you this, but I never got the chance. It's ok if you say no" he says and I wonder what it is he wants to tell me.

As he is about to tell me what he wants Christina approaches the door and I feel Tobias stiffen. I look outside and see the compound. We are home. We all get ready and when the train slows down we jump. We let the others go ahead and wait until they are out of earshot to resume our conversation.

"What was it that you wanted to ask me" I break the silence. He smiles at me. I love it when he smiles. He seems so much happier and younger than when he has to put on his Four mask.

"I wanted to ask you if you would consider moving in with me. I know we haven't been together for long, but I love you and I want to spend as much time with you as I possibly can. But don't feel pressured. If you are not ready I'll understand, I promise" he assures me. He reaches for my hand and leads me back into the compound. It's his way of telling me that I can think about it while we go home. Home. I do feel at home when I'm with Tobias. And I love him, more than anything I realized today. I was scared for my family today, but when Eric pointed that gun at Tobias and took that shot and for a split second I believed that he got hit my entire world fell apart. He's right, we haven't been together for a long time, but sometimes people can spend a lifetime with someone and never truly know that person or spend an instant with each other and know everything. I don't want to wait for something bad to happen to be with him. Well, not be be with him, but at least take this relationship to the next level. And I'm sure he would never pressure me into something I don't want. Yeah, I want to live with him. I want to know everything about him and I want him to know everything about me. I need to tell him. Before I accept his offer he needs to know my secret. The other one.

I am surprised to see that we reached his apartment. I was so engrossed in my own little world that I practically forgot there is an actual world surrounding me. Tobias unlocks his door and lets me enter first. I sit on one of his chairs and motion him to sit next to me.

"Before I give you my answer I need to tell you something. Something that I haven't told a soul before. The only other person who knows this secret is my mother." I swallow pass the lump in my throat and chant be brave, be brave over and over before I open my mouth again. "I'm a telepath."

I look at Tobias who keeps the most neutral face I've ever seen. I can't tell if he's shocked or angry or scared or anything. I want to yell say something but I keep my mouth shut. I know that something like this is rather hard to digest. Assuming he believes me.

"You can read minds?" he finally asks.

"Yes and no" I decide to be completely honest. "I can create connections with other people, but those people need to be strong, their minds need to be strong and focused. As a matter of fact, my mom is the only person I've managed to create a connection like that with. I tried it with my brother, but we rarely are in sync. It's difficult to explain. Can you follow?" He only nods. "It's easier to project myself onto another plane. For instance, yesterday when I fainted I projected myself onto another plane, which means I was there and yet not. I was able to walk around unseen, like a ghost. I saw Max and Eric talk and I had a gut feeling that something was up. So I wanted to find out what. I projected myself and in the process fainted. Well, my body fainted at least. My mind, if you will, followed Max and Eric into Max's office. Everything I told you yesterday I've heard from them. When I'm a ghost or in between I can touch people, but they feel a slight cold that they easily dismiss. It's then when I can tap into their minds and their memories. I cannot search through their minds as I please. I have to ask for permission, so to speak."

"What do you mean you ask for permission?" he asks confused.

"For instance, I touched Eric's hand and asked him to think of something to prove that he and other conspirators were planning on killing members of Abnegation by using the Dauntless. He experienced it like a simple connection his mind made and dismissed it easily. In any case, it was just in his mind, right?"

"This is how you knew about the file." It's a statement, not a question. I nod. "Did you warn your mom the same way?"

"Kind of."

"Did you ever do it to me?" he asks. I feel a pain in my heart that he even suggests that I would do it to him, but I have to remind myself that first we haven't known each other for long and it's impossible for him to know if I would or would not do certain things. And second, I just told him the most freakish story about myself, so of course he's freaking out.

"No. I never tried and I never wanted to either. As a matter of fact, yesterday was the first time I did it since I chose Dauntless at the Choosing Ceremony. It's very hard to do anyway. It takes a toll on me. I'm always exhausted afterwards so I avoid it as much as possible."

After I explain every last bit of my ability we remain silent for a long time. When the silence becomes unbearable I speak up again.

"Do you hate me?" I ask in a low voice. My question must have startled him, because he looks at me shocked.

"Of course, not. I love you. That will never change" he says leaning in and placing a soft, gentle kiss to my lips.

"I love you too. And you are not disgusted or freaked out by me?" I push.

"Of course, not. Is it surprising? Yes. I read about those things in books at school, but I never thought something like that actually existed. You need to give me some time to adjust to this. Please be patient" he says and my heart melts. I'm the freak and here he is asking me to be patient with him. I get up and sit down on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"You are the most wonderful man in the whole world, did you know that?" I ask, leaning my forehead against his.

"You make me this way. Before you I was nothing. You gave me hope and love and a purpose in my otherwise meaningless life. Before you jumped I made a decision, that I would leave Dauntless and live factionless, but then you came and changed everything. I couldn't leave, not as long you were here. I fell in love with you literally the moment you fell into the net and in my life."

I place my hands on both sides of his face and kiss him passionately. I still can't understand how someone as perfect as Tobias can love someone as insignificant and freakish like I am, but I'm thankful and happy he does. And I love him so much. A yawn makes me break away from our kiss and he laughs.

"I guess someone needs to take a nap" he says still laughing.

He gets up and carries me into his bedroom placing me gently on his bed. He starts to walk out but I grab his hand before it's out of my reach.

"Don't go. Stay with me. You must be tired too. And there's no way in hell I'm letting you sleep on the floor" I say firmly.

"Alright, Tris. You're the boss" he jokes. He gets in bed next to me and we cuddle. He rubs my back until I fall asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

5

I wake up more refreshed and relaxed than ever and realize it's because of the man currently holding me tightly in his arms. I must have turned around while I was asleep, since we are in a spooning position right now. Tobias is still asleep by the regular rise and fall of his chest. His lips are slightly parted and his breath hits the skin on the back of my neck with every exhale. I want to get out of bed but I don't want to wake him up. He needs his rest, especially after everything we've been through the past twenty-four hours. I decide to lay still and wait for him to wake up on his own. After all, there's nowhere I would rather be and no one I would rather be with. I smile.

"I love it when you smile" he suddenly says sleep still thick in his voice.

"You are awake" I say surprised. "I didn't wake you, did I?" I ask.

"No." I turn in his arms and look up into his dark blue eyes. I could get lost in these eyes.

"Hey" I say grinning like an idiot.

"Hey back" he says before kissing my lips gently. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did actually. You?"

"Best nap ever" he says smiling. His expression changes and I wonder why. "You never answered my question" he says. What question? He must understand my silence, because he kisses the tip of my nose before saying "living with me". Oh, that.

"Yes. I want to live with you. I love you and want to spend as much time as possible with you" I say honestly.

"Great. I will buy a couch then. Even though I don't mind sleeping on the floor, during winter it might get a little bit chilly" he says jokingly.

"I don't mind a couch, but you are not going to sleep on it" I say seriously. He raises an eyebrow and looks with a curious expression at me.

"And where would I sleep?" he asks.

"Here. With me. I don't mind. I don't mind at all" I say, a blush coloring my face.

"You don't have to" he says seriously, knowing that I felt uncomfortable ever since he appeared in my fear landscape.

"I know, but I want to. The reason I slept so good is you."

"Are you sure?" he asks again.

"Yes, I swear. I'm still not ready for more, but I'm comfortable with you lying next to me" I assure him.

"Alright. I'm glad to hear that" he says. "Tris, there are a few things I have to tell you. After you fell asleep I thought of what you told me. What you shared with me is big and I thank you for trusting me to tell me something so important and personal. I never had anyone trusting me that way and I want to be able to tell you all of my secrets as well. But I'm afraid this can only happen in time."

"I know, Tobias. Whenever you are ready to share I'm here for you and don't worry everything you tell me stays between the two of us" I say assuring him.

"I know. Same goes for me. But I want to tell you at least one of my secrets" he tells me. I'm curious to find out what he has to say to me. "Tris, the reason why I recognized your divergence is… I'm divergent myself."

I sit up and look at Tobias as if he suddenly grew a second head. I don't know what to say.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I ask, a little angry.

"When?" he asks defensively.

"When you confronted me about my divergence perhaps?" I ask.

"Come on, Tris. Back then I wasn't sure of anything. Now I am. Besides why didn't you tell me about your divergence when you broke the glass in that tank. I asked you and you had the opportunity to tell me the truth. Why didn't you?" he asks angry. I open my mouth to say something, but he's right. I haven't told him anything about my divergence until very late. Well, he figured it out on his own.

"You are right, Tobias. I'm sorry. But we need to be honest with each other from now on. If we want this relationship to work we need to talk to each other. I felt hurt that you haven't told me about your divergence, but I realize you must have felt the same way when I told you about my secret. Promise me we will always talk to each other, no matter what" I say hopeful.

"I promise. I don't want to have secrets from you, but some things are still hard to talk about. I will tell you about them, but in time. Please, don't be mad."

"I'm not. We still have a lot to learn. And we need to be more patient with each other. This is all so new for me" I say throwing my hands up in exasperation.

"For me too, Tris" he says. "Everything you experience for the first time I experience as well. I told you, you are my first girlfriend. I never shared anything with anyone until I met you. There are only a handful of people here in Dauntless that I can call my friends and know a few things about me. But they have known me since I joined the faction. The things they know are basically about where I came from and my name. But that's because they were in my initiate class. Other than them no one knows my real name and obviously where I came from. I made it pretty clear over the past two years that I'm Four and I belong in Dauntless" he tells me.

"I know. I'm sorry for being so insecure and for getting upset earlier. I mean you let me into your fear landscape and I know you never let anyone do that" I say caressing his cheek. He leans into my touch and I feel the urge to hug him. I wrap my arms around his neck and he pulls me close, resting one hand on the small of my back while the other one rubs my right thigh. We lean in and kiss each other but are soon disturbed by a buzz. We break apart and Tobias groans. He turns around to grab his phone from the night stand and answers. He only gives short answers like yes, no, I understand. Before he hangs up he tells the other person we will be there.

"Who was that?" I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.

"Jack Kang. The City Council calls everyone to Candor to listen to the testimonies of everyone involved in the attack. It's going to be public and apparently the whole city is coming. We need to inform Dauntless of this. Come on" he says and gets out of bed. He puts on his shoes and I follow his example. I don't remember taking them off, but I guess he did it after I fell asleep. We walk down to the Pit hand in hand and tell everyone we see to tell everyone they know or see to gather in the Pit for a big announcement. It takes about twenty minutes until the Pit is flooded with hundreds of curious Dauntless. Everyone wants to know what news we have.

Like before Tobias grabs the microphone and climbs the highest rock in the Pit.

"I was just informed by Jack Kang, one of Candor's leaders, that the trials of those involved in the attack will be public. The whole city is invited, it's not mandatory, but I think we should be there. Also, the City Council suggested that everyone in the city should go under truth serum so that we figure out who else was involved in this mess. I personally don't like the idea of sharing my most intimate thoughts with everyone, but in light of recent events I understand the necessity. You can chose not to do it, of course, but everyone in the city will be registered in a special data base. I will talk to the council to see how exactly they plan on interrogating everyone, including if the interrogations are public or not. I don't think they will be public, unless there is proof that someone conspired against the city and its inhabitants. Any questions so far?" he asks.

"Yes. When are they going to interrogate the citizens?" one tall dark-skinned man asks.

"After the interrogation of the already known criminals. Pending on what names we learn had anything to do with the conspiracy they will arrest more people on the spot or send out teams to find and apprehend them."

"What happens if we refuse to go under truth serum?" one red-haired woman asks.

"I don't know for sure. I guess unless there is someone incriminating you under truth serum they won't do anything. But my guess is, since it's a city wide thing they want to be sure. I think it would look suspicious if people would refuse to cooperate. But I understand and share your feelings. I don't want the whole city to know my deepest thoughts. Doesn't matter how trivial they are, they are mine and no one else's. I will talk to the council and ask that the interrogations take place behind closed doors, without anyone, except a few select members of the council that are trustworthy. I will also suggest that those who will interrogate us should be interrogated first to see if they are trustworthy and not biased against Dauntless. Any other questions?" he asks the crowd.

"Since all of our leaders are arrested, who is going to lead us now?" another man asks.

"I don't know and I would suggest we wait until the interrogations are over before we decide on new leadership" Tobias tells the crowd and we all agree with him. It would be pointless appointing someone as our leader, when anyone could be a traitor. I hate to think that, but it's true.

"When are they going to interrogate the people they have already arrested" Tori, from the tattoo parlor, asks.

"They will start this evening, at seven. We have an hour left. I can't force you to go, as I've already told you, but I think it would be best if we all go or at least the majority. We all need to hear what drove them to such shameful acts of cowardice and made them betray our faction." Again the crowd agrees and the majority of those gathered in the Pit leaves Dauntless to march toward Candor.

Tobias and I lead the way. I don't know why, everyone knows how to get to Candor. We walk hand in hand in complete silence. We hear our fellow Dauntless talking behind us, but we are too far ahead to understand what they are saying. Not that I really care. I'm just glad I'm with Tobias right now and that's all that matters to me.

We arrive at Candor ten minutes before seven and try to find a place where to stand. It seems like everyone in the city, including some factionless came to witness the testimonies of the criminals. I look around to see if I can find my parents or my brother but I'm out of luck. Instead I see Jack Kang approaching us quickly.

"Mr. Kang" Tobias greets him, stretching out his hand to shake Kang's.

"Four, Tris, please follow me to the front. The council invited you both to have a front row seat to witness this" he says and turns to leave before we even can say something. Tobias tells the others that we were summoned to the front to sit with the city council. The few Dauntless who were in earshot just nod and we leave to follow Jack.

I'm glad to see that both my parents are alright and I take a seat next to my mom, followed by Tobias who sits next to me. Thankfully Marcus sits on the other side of the row next to a dark-skinned woman from Amity, engrossed in whatever conversation they are having and completely oblivious to the fact that his son is here.

Exactly at seven o'clock Jack Kang stands in the middle of the improvised podium in the backyard of the Candor headquarter announcing the reason why everyone was summoned here. He explains Jeanine's plan to overthrow the government by killing everyone in Abnegation, believing that her faction should be the governing one. He emphasizes the fact that the action of one or a few individuals are not the actions of an entire faction. I have to agree. Even though I never liked Erudite much and now less than ever, I can't but agree with what he says. Especially, since all the Dauntless leaders conspired with her and sacrificed their faction for Jeanine's personal vendetta against Abnegation and I'm sure against the divergent population of the city.

"Before we start the interrogations I want to tell you all that we wouldn't be here and especially the Abnegation wouldn't be alive if it wouldn't have been for two brave Dauntless who risked their lives to not only warn Abnegation and the council of Jeanine Matthews's plan, but they also successfully overpowered her allies and retook control of the Dauntless compound. Ladies and gentlemen, we all have to thank Four and Tris. Please you two, stand up" he says and I feel a deep blush spreading across my face. I hate to be the center of everyone's attention. I can see Tobias get up and hear the Dauntless in the back cheering as loudly as they can. I'm incapable of moving until Tobias bends over a little and offers me his hand. "Be brave, Tris" he whispers to me and I stand up. The moment I stand the cheers become louder than before and I honestly can't understand why.

Jack gestures to the crowd to calm down and Tobias and I sit back down. A door to our right opens and two Candor guards escort Jeanine Matthews to the chair placed in the center of the podium. She sits down and Jack walks up to her injecting her with truth serum. He waits a minute for the serum to activate and then starts to ask her questions. He starts with simple ones, such as her name, faction and age.

"What is your name?" he asks.

"Jeanine Matthews" she answers.

"What is your age?"

"34" she says.

"To which faction do you belong?"

"Erudite."

"Did you plan to attack Abnegation using the Dauntless?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because they are traitors to our system" she spits.

"What do you mean?" he asks curious.

"They harbor divergents" she says with an evil grin.

The crowd starts commenting the moment the word divergent came out of her mouth. For years now people live with the impression that divergents are super-humans and therefore bad people, of course a complete misconception. But people believe lies and rumors so easily that I don't think anyone ever bothered to actually understand what it meant to be divergent.

"Why do you say that?" Jack continues his interrogation, ignoring the whispers in the sea of people behind him.

"Because it's the truth."

"Do you have any proof?" he inquires.

"Yes." My heart starts beating. She knows. Oh my god, she knows.

"How?" he questions further.

"Erudite develops and manufactures all the serums in the city. To improve the formula we need to see how the serum reacts when administered. Because of that we have access to the test results of the aptitude test. Over the years we were able to identify and successfully eliminate divergents."

"You mean kill them?" he asks shocked.

"Of course" Jeanine answers in a sweet voice, just like a teacher does when her pupil got the right answer.

"What gives you the right to kill people?" he asks, now furious.

"They are a threat to our system. They need to be eliminated." I hear people behind me gasp in shock.

"Explain to me, how are divergents endangering our system?" Jack asks, taking Jeanine by surprise and frankly me too.

"Well, for starters, they don't belong anywhere" she explains.

"Does that mean all the factionless are divergent?" he asks. I see where this is going.

"No" she answers confused I would say.

"Why not? They don't fit anywhere. According to your description someone who is divergent is a person that doesn't belong to a faction – like a factionless" he argues, a little like an Erudite if I might say so.

"No."

"Alright, then explain."

"Well, they can't be controlled…" she starts to explain again but gets interrupted by Jack.

"Ah, so you want people you can control. Like you did with the Dauntless when you injected them with that simulation serum and send them to kill the Abnegation" Jack prompts.

"Yes" she answers and I can see that she isn't pleased with herself for answering that. The truth serum must work really well.

"To your knowledge, does someone who is divergent have special powers?" he asks and I watch Jeanine curiously.

"No."

"I'm asking because for years people were so afraid of divergents that I wonder why. If they don't have special powers, how is it that they are a threat and a danger to the system and our society?" he asks, turning around to face the crowd. It seems to me he actually asked everyone that question not just Jeanine.

"Well, I told you, they don't fit anywhere" she tries to argue.

"Let me get this straight. Divergents are people who don't fit anywhere, but they are not all factionless. Which means some of them live in fact in a faction. According to you, Abnegation was harboring divergents which means divergents can live in Abnegation, in a faction. Am I right?"

"Yes" he says in a low voice and I have to admit he is crushing her with his reasoning. I wonder…

"If these people, the divergent, are so dangerous why haven't they done something already?"

"I don't know" she answers, her voice barely audible.

"I'll tell you why, because your Erudite logic is flawed" he says exactly what I was thinking.

"No!" she shouts. "It's not. They are evil" she says.

"Why are you saying this?" he asks.

"Because one of them stole something from me" she answers.

"Wouldn't that person be a thief then?" Jack asks mockingly.

"She stole the love of my life" she says.

"And who is the love of your life?" Jack insists.

"Andrew Prior."


	6. Chapter 6

6

I'm shocked. I did not see that coming. I place my hand over my mouth and stare at Jeanine like she just lost her mind. I turn my head to the left to look at my parents. Both are shocked, but they quickly control themselves and avoid any kind of eye contact with anyone, including themselves. I can tell it's uncomfortable for them.

So, Jeanine is in love with my dad, always has been. She is totally pissed that my mom married him. She wants revenge and hides behind the divergent-thing. What a bitch!

"Silence!" Jack shouts a few times and then the crowd seems to calm down.

"Let us go back to what you said. You said that you are in love with councilman Prior and that someone stole him away from you. Is that right?"

"Yes."

"Is that someone by any chance his wife, Natalie Prior?"

"Yes" she says with venom in her voice.

"Wouldn't that mean that you have a grudge against Mrs. Prior?"

"Yes" she says now glaring at my mother.

"Just because Mrs. Prior got to marry Mr. Prior doesn't mean that she is divergent. Why do you think she is?"

"Because I observed her. And when I saw the aptitude test results of their children I knew for certain" she says and I know I'm busted. She will tell everyone that I'm divergent. "Her daughter Beatrice is divergent, just like she is." I can literally feel every pair of eyes staring at me. Tobias grabs my hand and squeezes a little too hard, but I don't mind. He is here with me and that's all I need to know.

"Silence" Jack shouts again. He looks at me and I think I see compassion in his eyes, but I'm not sure. He turns to face Jeanine.

"Alright, lets summarize what we have learnt so far" he says mockingly "first, in your opinion, divergents are people who don't fit anywhere, but are not always factionless but indeed live in a faction that annuls your statement that divergents can't fit somewhere. Second, divergents are a danger to the system and our society because they can't be controlled, although no divergent tried to actually harm the system or our society as far as you can tell. Third, you planned on killing innocent people because you believed they harbored divergents. Forth, you conspired not only to kill members of Abnegation but to overthrow the government, who, as you always said it in the articles published by Erudite failed to do its duty to the people of this city, something that yet needs to be proven. Fifth, you actually designed and manufactured a serum that takes one person's free will away and lets you control that person to do your own bidding. And you started this entire vendetta against divergents because one woman who happens to be divergent, at least that's what you said, stole a man from you, who I'm not really sure ever belonged to you. Have I missed something?"

"No" she answers.

"As far as I can tell, you used the general misconception about divergents to your own personal advantage to take revenge on a person that supposedly stole the love of your life from you. Also, you say that divergents are a threat to the system and yet you admit that you wanted to overthrow the government because it became inefficient. Why are you any better than the divergents, who by the way never tried to overthrow the government? I'll tell you, all of you, she is not. She is just a very ambitious criminal."

Jack motions to the two guards who brought Jeanine to take her back to her cell.

The crowd starts cheering. I understand why. Jack's reasoning is flawless. The fact that throughout this interrogation he defended divergents makes me believe that he knows someone that is divergent or maybe he himself is one.

But that's irrelevant now. Jeanine just told the whole city that I'm divergent. It's futile to deny it, they are going to administer truth serum and ask me that question and I won't be able to hide it. Oh, what the hell. I get up from my seat and walk toward Jack, who currently has he's back turned to me. I tap him lightly on the shoulder and he turns around.

"I think we need to talk" I say.

"I think you are right. Let's go to my office" he says and I nod. We start to walk away, but someone suddenly grabs me by the wrist. I turn around and see Tobias looking confused down to me.

"Where are you going, Tris?" he asks.

"To my office. We need to talk. You can join us, if you like and if it's ok with you Tris" he politely says.

"Yes, it's actually very ok."

We follow Jack inside Candor headquarters and to the first elevator we see. We get inside and let it take us to the fifth floor. The hallway before us is just like any other in Candor. The floor is made of white and black tiles, just like a chess board and the walls are painted white and every now and then we can see the faction symbol painted in black, creating a nice contrast. At the end of the hallway is a dark-wooden door with Jack's name on it. He takes out his key and unlocks it. He opens it and lets me and Tobias enter first. He offers us each a seat on the couch in the middle of the room, while he sits in an armchair across from us.

"I guess you want to discuss what Jeanine said about you" he says straight to the point.

"Yes. She is right. I am divergent." I can see from the corner of my eyes that I took Tobias by surprise. He probably thought I would deny it.

"Thank you for your honesty" he says.

"It's not much I can do about it now, is there?" I ask. "After all, Jeanine just told the whole city that I'm divergent. The moment I go under truth serum and someone asks me that question I won't be able to deny it" I tell him.

"When did you find out about your divergence?" he asks, genuinely interested.

"During my aptitude test."

"Me too" he confides. I'm surprised he is sharing this information with us. I would understand that he would tell me, if we were alone, but with Tobias here seems a little odd.

"You are divergent too?" Tobias asks surprised.

"Yes. I got Candor and Erudite as a result" he tells us.

"I figured" I say. They both look at me strangely.

"What? It was only logical. The way you argued and refuted her reasoning made it clear. You may be Candor, but you are very smart. You beat her with her own logic" I say.

"You are quite smart yourself" he says. "What was your test result?"

"Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless" I answer.

"What? Three? I've never heard of anyone getting three results" he says in wonder.

"Well, that's me" I say half joking.

"Alright. Now that Jeanine told everyone that you are divergent you can't go back to pretending that you are not" he says and I agree.

"I know. This is why I want to go under truth serum next, before anyone else. I want to show the city that divergents aren't dangerous or evil. In fact, we are just like anyone else. The only difference is we can actually fit in more than one place. I think it would be better if people knew more about divergents and stop believing stupid rumors."

"I agree. But I honestly don't know if they would be as understanding as you think or hope. However, you will have to go under truth serum. Now that Jeanine opened that door we can go back. Are you sure you want to do this now?" he asks again.

"Yes. I won't be able to go home to Dauntless while so many heard Jeanine say that I'm divergent and I just keep my mouth shut about it. It's no point in denying or hiding it. I want to tell my fellow Dauntless as well as the rest of the people in the city that I'm divergent and I'm not afraid to say it. Well, sort of."

"Alright. Let me inform everyone about your testimony. You can wait here until I come for you" he says and leaves me alone with Tobias.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tobias asks me.

"I don't want to, but I have to. There's no point in delaying this. There is only one problem though" I say looking up into his loving eyes.

"What?" he asks.

"You. I know about your divergence" I whisper the last word, afraid someone might hear us. Its one thing if the whole city knows I'm divergent, I don't want them to know about Tobias.

"Don't worry about me. If they ask you about me or if you know other divergents just say my name. You are right, there's no going back now. Whatever comes we will face it together" he says reassuringly.

"You and me?" I ask.

"Yeah, you and me against the world" he says cupping my face in his hands and placing a sweet, tender kiss on my lips.

"I love you, Tobias."

"I love you too, Tris." We kiss again but are soon interrupted by someone clearing his throat. We break apart and look to where the sound came from and see a smirking Jack Kang standing in the doorway.

"It's time Tris. I told the council that you volunteered to testify next. Your parents weren't happy, but didn't argue with your decision."

We follow him back outside and Tobias takes his place again while I sit down on the chair that was occupied only half an hour ago by Jeanine Matthews. Jack approaches me with a syringe and I get anxious to get this over with. I feel the needle piercing through my skin and a warmth enveloping me. Jack waits a minute and then starts his questioning. He tells the crowd that given Jeanine's testimony I volunteered to go under truth serum in front of everyone.

"What is your name?" he asks.

"Beatrice Prior, but since I joined Dauntless I'm known as Tris" I answer quickly without even thinking. Whoa, that was strange.

"How old are you?"

"16."

"Into what faction were you born and what faction did you choose?"

"Born Abnegation and chose Dauntless."

"What are the names of your parents?"

"Andrew and Natalie Prior."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"Yes. One older brother, Caleb."

"Earlier we heard the testimony of Jeanine Matthews and she accused you of being divergent. What can you tell us about that?"

"It's true" I say and I can hear the people start talking. It takes a while before they calm down and Jack can question me further.

"You are testifying that you are divergent, is that correct?" he asks.

"Yes."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I have aptitude for more than one faction. I got Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless as a result" I say confidently.

"Three factions?"

"Yes."

"So, you don't fit in any of those?"

"That's not true. In fact I could easily fit in any one of them. But I chose Dauntless. I realize that even though I'm smart, I could never be truly an Erudite and while I was raised in Abnegation I found it always difficult to be selfless. I would lie if I would say that life in Dauntless is easy. Initiation alone was excruciating painful, but I wouldn't trade it in for anything in the world. I love my life as a Dauntless and I'm proud I made it through initiation" I say sincerely. I can hear the Dauntless in the back cheering and I smile.

"Do you have any powers?" he asks. Oh my god. I will spill out that I'm a telepath. I try to focus but my head starts hurting. "Tris, are you alright?" he asks concerned.

"My head hurts a little" I say.

"Don't try to think too much, let the serum take over" he tells me, but I can't. If I do I will tell everyone about my ability. And the worst thing is it has nothing to do with my divergence. If people would find out about my secret they would think that all divergents have special abilities. Which they don't. I think.

"Ok" I whisper.

"Let me repeat, do you have any powers?" he asks again. Here goes nothing.

"No" I say and I feel my whole body on fire. But I did it. I lied.

"When did you find out about your divergence?"

"After I took my aptitude test."

"Have you told anyone about your divergence?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I was told that if anyone knows that I'm divergent I will get myself killed. I kept it to myself."

"Who told you that?" Damn. I don't want to say it.

"The woman who administered my aptitude test" I say ambiguously.

"What's her name?" he asks. I think I should say Tori's name. After all they can check who administered my test. If I lie they'll figure it out and probably won't ever believe me again.

"Tori, I don't know her last name. She is Dauntless and works in the tattoo parlor." I hope Tori doesn't hate me for telling the whole city that it was her who found out about my divergence.

"Why did she advise you to keep your divergence hidden?"

"She told me later after I chose Dauntless that her brother was divergent too and got killed for it."

"There are many rumors regarding divergents. Some say they have powers or are pure evil. What can you tell us?"

"I can't say much. But it's absurd. Just because someone is divergent doesn't mean that person is evil. Anyone in the city can do something bad or just be plain evil without being divergent. Jeanine said that divergents are a threat because they don't fit in anywhere. But how can that be true. I'm divergent and I'm in Dauntless. I didn't really fit into Abnegation because I felt I couldn't be selfless enough. And what about all the factionless who aren't divergent? They didn't fit either, but for other reasons. I still don't understand why people are so afraid of divergents. I bet there are many divergents in the city, living in factions, living normal lives, having everyday problems like anyone else. Jeanine said that divergents threaten the system, but the truth is the system threatens divergents. No, that's not even true. Not the whole system, just a few people who don't understand divergence. I for one don't want to change our way of life. I'm ok with the factions, but maybe if we would be allowed to have closer relationships with people from other factions than we could live peacefully and not always watching our backs like we are at war. If people from other factions would get to know Abnegation better they would know for certain that what Erudite said about secret warehouses and other shameful things is in fact a lie. Abnegation doesn't store food and goods in secret warehouses for themselves. There are no warehouses. Abnegation gives it to the factionless. If people would get to know Dauntless better they would know that they are not just some adrenaline junkies and some nut jobs. They are actually nice and caring and can be your best friends. My best friend, Christina, she's from Candor and transferred to Dauntless, she can be very verbal and outspoken sometimes, but I love her. We shared a few childhood memories and compared the different way of life in each of our birth factions. Am I a bad Dauntless for doing that? I don't think so. Will I become a better person? I don't know. I hope so. My friend Will transferred from Erudite. He can be a bit of a know it all when he wants, but he is the most kind and helpful person I know. In my personal opinion and according to my own experience knowing more about other factions only helps us strengthen the system instead of damaging it. If we all would work together there would be no more suspicions or ill will among different factions and their members. If that makes me dangerous, than that's what I am. But I hardly believe it has anything to do with my divergence."

"That was quite some speech, Tris" Jack says smiling.

"I meant every word" I say firmly.

"I know, you are still under truth serum" he says and a few people laugh. "Do you know other divergents?" he asks serious again.

"Yes. But I don't want to say their names."

"Why not?"

"It's their secret to tell, not mine."

"If you could change something, what would it be?"

"The way people think of divergents. If people would know divergents they would see that we are just as anyone else here. It's not our aptitude that makes us good or bad, it's our choices. Jeanine Matthews is not divergent, but in my opinion she is a bad person. Killing innocent people is a bad thing no matter what the reason. Conspiring to kill an entire faction is evil. Manipulating another faction is evil. So you tell me, all of you, who is really evil, me for being divergent or Jeanine for all she did and still wanted to do?"

I hear cheers again, but not just the Dauntless but everyone else starts cheering and applauding. The council tries to calm the crowd but it takes a while before the last cheers quiet down. Jack left me a while ago and went to talk to the City Council. It seems like they are debating but I can't tell what they are saying. I look toward Tobias and I see a faint smile on his face. His trying to put a brave face on for my sake and I'm thankful for it. I really need him right now. Jack returns to the podium and stands half turned to me half to the crowd.

"Tris, I've spoken to the council and we want to ask both you and all the citizens something" he says and I wonder what he wants. He turns completely toward the crowd and asks out loud.

"For too many years people were forced to believe that divergents are evil people and have some special powers. Tris here testified in front of all of us under truth serum that those allegations are wrong. There is no reason to deny the existence of the divergent population. We all knew they existed but never admitted it out loud. I think it's time we all learn what it means to be divergent. Therefore, I'm asking all of you here present, do you want to learn about divergents? Too really get to know them and to know what it means to be divergent? To understand what they are and form an opinion based on your personal experience?"

He allows the people to think about it for a while before one after the other say yes out loud. The more people say yes the louder the crowd gets. It seems they all want to know what it really means to be divergent and I'm glad. There's nothing much to it. All the crap about super powers and stuff is just an urban legend, probably fueled by Erudite.

When the crowd calms down Jack turns to look at me.

"Tris, would you show us what it means to be divergent? To let people get to know you, to understand that you are just as normal as the rest of them?" he says deliberately them and points toward the crowd.

"Yes. I want you to know me and understand that I'm still the same. I'm no better than anyone else here. I have my flaws and sometimes I make mistakes, but I'm only human" I honestly say and a few people whistle and cheer.

"Mr. Kang, would it help if there were more divergents who would come out and show everyone that divergents are not to be feared?" Tobias asks while standing up. I don't want him to do this, but I can't stop him either. It's his decision.

"It would actually" Jack says.

"In that case" Tobias says approaching Jack and me "I'm divergent too" he says while turning around to face the crowd.

"Me too" my mom says coming next to us.

"So am I" Jack says.

"I'm divergent too" Uriah says, running to the podium. I have to say I'm surprised. I didn't know he is divergent.

After Uriah comes to the podium at least fifty other people from different factions told the whole city they are divergents. There might be more out there, but maybe they are still not convinced it's safe for them to come out like this. I'm not completely convinced it was the right thing to do. But there's no going back now.

By the time people calm down its past nine o' clock. The council decides to interrogate the ex-Dauntless leaders tomorrow along with all the other traitors.

"Please, everybody, calm down" I hear Marcus saying, trying to calm the crowd. Everyone starts to calm down and look forward to what he has to say. "Today was an eventful day. Unfortunately, this whole situation cannot be fixed today or tomorrow. It will take probably several months. The things we've heard today shatter our beliefs to the grounds. But I believe we are strong and we will survive this crisis. As head of the City Council it is my duty to look after everyone in this city. Therefore I have to ask the Dauntless present here to choose new leadership. The faction cannot remain without leader and representation" he says.

"We decided to wait until the interrogations of every Dauntless are over and then choose a new leader" Tobias says in his most intimidating Four voice. His father turns around slightly taken aback by the man that stands before him. Marcus only knew the frightened boy that he tortured for so many years, not this strong and fearless man.

"I'm afraid we cannot wait that long" Marcus says. Tobias opens his mouth to say something, when one tall Dauntless man with at least half a dozen face piercings shouts "I nominate Four and Tris to be our new leaders. Who agrees?" The whole Dauntless group gathered here cheers and whistles and stomps their feet in agreement. I'm overwhelmed. I get why they want Tobias, he is a born leader. But me?

"There you have it" Marcus says "Your faction nominated you two. Do you accept?" I'm speechless. I look at Tobias and he stares into my eyes.

"I'm doing it if you do it with me" he whispers in my ear, making me shudder. "You and me" he starts saying.

"Against the world" I finish. "Alright, Tobias. Together" I say.

"We both accept this honor" Tobias says and the Dauntless crowd gets louder, if that is even possible.

"It's settled then" Marcus speaks again. "The next interrogation will start tomorrow at ten in the morning. You can all come" he says toward the crowd. "You two have to come. For you it's mandatory."

"We'll be here" Tobias says glaring at his father.

I walk toward my mom and hug her tightly.

"I'm so proud of you, Beatrice" my father says, joining us.

"Thanks, dad." I hug my dad and realize I haven't seen my brother at all since this whole mess started.

"Mom, dad, where's Caleb?" I ask concerned.

"He is at Erudite. After Jeanine and the other Erudite conspirators were arrested we needed proof that could only come from Erudite. Caleb brought it to us and is currently helping with the decryption of the files" my father explains.

"Thank god, I was so worried" I say. Tobias approaches us after talking to Zeke, telling me we have to go.

"Wait" I say and grab his hand. "Four, this is my dad, Andrew Prior. Dad, this is Four, my boyfriend" I say proudly. Tobias bows his head Abnegation style, but my dad just looks stunned.

"Your boyfriend?" my dad asks in disbelief. "I thought you were joking earlier"

"Why would I joke?"

"But you're too young to have a boyfriend" he says.

"No, I'm not. Mom, could you talk to him" I ask my mom, before kissing her goodbye.

"I will. Don't worry, sweetheart. Take good care of my precious girl, Four" she says hugging him, surprising us both.

"I will, Mrs. Prior" he answers, sounding more like Tobias than Four right now.

"Please, call me Natalie" she says smiling.

"Alright, Natalie. Have a good night. You too, Mr. Prior" he says to my dad and we walk hand in hand away. I just hear my dad stutter "But, but, she's too young, Natalie. She's my baby girl". I have to smile. My dad loves me and I love him.

I can't wait to get back home. I'm so tired. And tomorrow Tobias and I have another long day ahead of us.


	7. Chapter 7

7

We finally reach the Dauntless compound and I feel my eyelids getting heavier with every step I take. A lot of the Dauntless that were present during Jeanine's and mine interrogation already reached Dauntless, but I feel like I have no energy left to even keep my eyes open. Tobias slowed down his pace in order for me to keep up. He offered to carry me, but I refused. He is as tired as I am.

We enter the Pit and everyone there starts cheering and stomping their feet. The noise wakes me up and I look around to find a clue as to why they are cheering. And then they chant our names. Four. Tris. Four. Tris. Four. Tris.

Those who rushed back to Dauntless told the others who chose to stay at the compound during the interrogations what happened, including the revelation of my divergence and the fact that those present at Candor chose me and Tobias to be the new Dauntless leaders. By the looks of it those who stayed home are not only ok with this new development, they actually embrace it. I realize that we need to say something. Both of us. I grab Tobias's hand and we walk to the same spot he gave his speeches the other two times, only this time I stand right next to him on the rock. He grabs the microphone and starts addressing the whole of Dauntless.

"My fellow Dauntless, it is an honor for both Tris and me to be your new leaders. We thank you for your faith and trust in us and we promise to do the best we can for our faction. It might be rough sometimes, mistakes will be made. But we will learn. Together. I realize you have many questions, but give us a few days to settle in and then we will have a meeting with all of you, back here" he says. He looks down at me and silently asks me if I want to say something. I shake my head no, but then grab the microphone from his hand.

"I'm sure you all know by now that I'm divergent" many of them nod. "Are you afraid of me? Or do you harbor any kind of negative feeling?" The majority shake their heads. "If you still have questions about divergence and those who are divergent ask us now. Let's get this over with. There is no hard feeling, I swear. I rather have all out in the open than have anyone feel uncomfortable."

"I have a question" a young blond girl not older than maybe eighteen or nineteen says.

"Yes, please" I say.

"I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that we all grew up believing certain things about divergents. Most of those things are lies and rumors. It would be nice if we would have some actual information on the subject. Is there anything written down on divergents?"

"I honestly don't know. Erudite might have something, but I wouldn't trust it though, considering recent events." And then a thought crosses my mind. "I think I have an idea. I'm going to present it to the council as soon as possible, but I'm going to tell you now anyways. I think it would be better if we gather this information first hand. Meaning I want those of you who are not divergent to write down questions or concerns regarding divergents and I want the divergent to help me answer them as best as we can. You can choose to ask me directly or leave a written note in a special designed box, signed or not, and we can answer them and at some point we can gather here and answer them out loud. I'm going to ask the other factions to do something similar, so that we all have a better picture on the matter. What I really want is that we all work together, divergent or not, we are all Dauntless because we all chose Dauntless. I think I can speak for Four as well when I say that we want a better Dauntless. I've learned over the past weeks since I came here that things used to be different here. That people worked together and helped each other. But because of the malicious influence of some people our former leaders chose to advertise rivalry and cowardice. The first night here Max said that we believe in small acts of bravery. The faction manifesto says that. And he is right. Only he and the other leaders never encouraged it. Instead vicious and reckless behavior was encouraged. I don't know how many of you know this but one of my fellow initiates was stabbed in the eye and was forced to leave the compound, being unable to finish his training. He was good, really good. Also, Four told me that when a Dauntless reaches a certain age he or she is asked to leave. I find this outrageous. These are a few topics I would like that we all discuss freely at our next meeting. Think about more topics and let me and Four know. Also, think of solutions. Things need to change here and we can only do that if we work together, as a team. What do you say?" The loud stomping and clapping answers my question. Good.

Tobias grabs my hand and leads me out of the Pit. We stop at the dorm to get my things and then go to his apartment. He frees a drawer for me and I put the few outfits I own away. When I get back to the kitchenette Tobias hands me a muffin and a warm glass of milk.

"Sorry, I don't have anything tastier" he says.

"It's ok. This is actually wonderful. I'm starving." We eat our muffins and drink our milk.

Tobias lets me use the bathroom first and I decide to take a quick shower, since I don't think I can keep my eyes open any longer. I let the warm spray of water wash the exhausting day away from my body and relax my muscles. I quickly get out covering myself with the towel Tobias gave me and walk into the bedroom. I am so tired that I forgot to get my clothes. Tobias is sitting on the bed reading a book when I enter and our eyes meet momentarily. I blush crimson and he smiles a little, but doesn't say anything other than "is it my turn?" I only nod and he passes me on his way to the bathroom, but not before kissing my left cheek lightly. This simple gesture sends a swarm of butterflies through my tummy and I can feel a heat wave wash over me. I quickly dry myself with the towel and change into some sweatpants and a t-shirt and jump under the covers. I wait for Tobias to come out but fatigue takes over and I fall asleep before he finishes his shower.

I wake up the next morning still a little tired, but at least I got some sleep. I try to look at the clock but Tobias holds me tightly to his chest and I can't move an inch.

"There is no escape" he says jokingly.

"I would never escape" I say and turn around in his arms, so that I face him now.

"Good morning, sweetheart" he says and my heart melts at the term of endearment. Maybe I should try one out for him.

"Morning, handsome." He leans forward and kisses me lightly at first, but soon the kiss becomes passionate and his tongue touches my lips and I open my mouth, letting our tongues mate with each other. Our kiss becomes more and more aggressive and hungry for more and soon we both let out moans of pure pleasure. My mind races a million miles per hour and my head is dizzy. The only thing still keeping me sane and grounded is Tobias. His strong arms around me, his warm, soft lips on mine, his velvet tongue in my mouth, exploring every part of it, his scent that always seems to drive me crazy. When I feel his desire pressed against my leg however I wake up from my intoxicating daydream and slow our kiss down. We pull away from each other, both panting heavily after our heated make out session. When our breaths return somewhat to normal Tobias looks into my eyes and smiles. I smile back. I was never happier in my whole life.

"You have to promise me to always tell me when to stop, Tris. I love you very much and I don't want you to feel pressured by me." I nod. "But sometimes it's really difficult to keep my hands off of you."

"You mean like now?" I ask half laughing.

"Yeah, like now."

"I want you, Tobias, but I'm not ready yet. Please be patient" I say, hoping he will understand.

"Don't worry, Tris. I would never do anything you don't want to" he says caressing my cheek. "Come on, we should get up. We need to be at Candor at ten."

I look at the clock and see it reads 8 AM. I get out of bed, grab a new outfit and head into the bathroom to change. I come back five minutes later, allowing Tobias to do the same. I walk to the fridge to see what we could eat, but there's nothing there. I open a few cupboards but still nothing.

"Looking for something?" he asks startling me.

"You startled me" I say, putting my left hand to my chest.

"I'm sorry, honey, I didn't mean to" he says apologetically.

"It's ok. I was looking for some food, but apparently you have a very light diet. As in no food whatsoever." He laughs at my joke and hugs me tightly.

"I love you" he says.

"I love you too, teddy bear."

He pulls away from me and looks me in the eyes a little bit confused.

"What? I am not allowed to use terms of endearment?" I ask pouting. He kisses my pout away and then shakes his head.

"It's not that. It's just, why teddy bear?"

"Because you are like one. You look all scary when you act like Four, but when we are alone you are the sweetest, fluffiest, cuddliest teddy bear I've ever seen" I say in a baby voice and he laughs even harder.

"Okay, if you say so."

"I say so. But don't worry I won't call you teddy bear in front of your friends."

"Or Dauntless" he adds.

"Or Dauntless" I assure him. "How about honey? Can I call you honey in public?" I ask.

"I think that's alright. Come on. Let's go down to the cafeteria and grab some breakfast" he says leading me out of the apartment.

We walk hand in hand toward the cafeteria and every time we pass someone they greet us with smiles on their faces. It seems like the Dauntless are really ok with Tobias and me as their new leaders. I hope I won't disappoint them. I will try and do my best to be a good leader and I'm sure with Tobias by my side I will succeed.

We sit down at Tobias's regular table and fill our plates with pancakes, bacon and some cheese. Tobias asks me if I want some coffee and I say yes. I never had coffee before, but there's a first for everything, right? I taste it but then realize it's too bitter for me, so I add two tea spoons of sugar. Ah, much better. When I'm about to take another sip from my coffee I see Christina and Will walk into the cafeteria and wave at them to come and join us.

"Is it ok that I called them here?" I ask Tobias, suddenly aware of the fact that he might not like them to sit with us.

"Of course it's ok. Any friends of yours are my friends too. Well, so to speak" he says laughing.

"Hey Tris, Four" Christina says.

"Good morning" Will says from behind her.

"Good morning" Tobias and I say at the same time.

"Please, take a seat" I tell them and they sit in front of us. They both fill their plates and I can see that Christina wants to ask or say something, but probably doesn't know how to do it.

"Just spill it" I say.

"What?" she asks confused.

"You want to say something. Go ahead, say it."

"Ok. It's just so many things have changed" she starts but I interrupt her.

"Tell me about it."

"Are we still friends?" she asks insecure. I look at her in shock. Why would she even think we ever stopped being friends?

"Of course we are. Unless you don't want to."

"I want to, Tris. You are my best friend. But things have changed" she says.

"But I'm still the same. I was divergent when I chose Dauntless and the whole time during initiation. The only thing that really changed is that I'm now one of the Dauntless leaders" I say smiling at her, trying to reassure her.

Tobias clears his throat next to me and I look at him questioningly. He raises one eyebrow. I get it.

"And I have a boyfriend now" I say proudly turning to face Christina. "I didn't forget" I say turning back to Tobias who looks amused.

"Congratulations by the way, Four, Tris" Will says.

"Thank you" we both say at the same time.

"If there is anything we can do to help please tell us" Will says.

"Thank you, Will. I appreciate it" Tobias says.

While we continue eating and having small talks about little things Zeke, Uriah, Shauna, Marlene and Lynn join our table. Tobias introduces everyone and tells me we have to get going.

"Wait, I have a question" Uriah stops us.

"Yes?" I ask.

"I know you have other stuff on your minds now, but when do we get to choose our jobs" he asks.

"And when do we get apartments to finally leave the dorms?" Lynn asks.

Shit. We never got the chance to even think about this stuff, let alone talk about it. I don't know what to tell them. Fortunately Tobias takes over.

"We will look into it. Right now we have to get to Candor. Please be patient" he says and we leave. We decide on taking the train since one is about to pass the compound shortly.

Within minutes a train appears and we jump on it, Tobias first and then me. We sit down on the other side opposite the door and just enjoy the ride. I look at Tobias and he is just staring at the scenery we pass, his mind a million miles away. I take his left hand in mind and kiss the back of it pulling him out of his thoughts.

"How are you?" I ask him.

"I'm fine" he answers, but I can tell he's not.

"Tobias, you can talk to me. I know that seeing him can't be easy" I say, meaning his dad. He looks at me very serious for a second before his expression changes to a more relaxed one.

"Thank you for caring for me" he says placing a soft kiss on my cheek. "But I'm fine."

"I'm not just caring for you. I love you. When you're ready you can talk to me, alright?"

"Alright. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

I can't force him to talk to me if he doesn't want to. Also, it might not be the best time. After all, we are on a train and are barely able to hear our own thoughts let alone have a conversation as important as this one. But I want him to know that he can count on me no matter what. I hope he talks to me though.

We soon reach our destination and get off the train. Tobias takes my hand and we walk hand in hand toward Candor. A lot of people have gathered already, although not as many as yesterday. We see Jack Kang approach us and walk the short distance to greet him.

"Good morning" he says.

"Good morning, Mr. Kang" Tobias says.

"Please Four, call me Jack" he says smiling.

"Alright, Jack" Tobias says.

"You too, Tris" he says to me.

"Hello Jack. So, what will happen today" I ask.

"Today the former Dauntless leaders are interrogated. We will start with Max and then continue until all five of them have been questioned" he explains.

"What about Eric?" Tobias asks. We haven't heard much about him. Will told us yesterday that he was stable when he left, but the doctors told him the next twenty four hours will be critical.

"I called the hospital this morning to get an update. He's fine. The doctors say he can be released soon. I took the liberty to add two Candor guards to the already two Dauntless guards to make sure he doesn't escape again" Jack tells us.

"Thank you for your help" I say.

"Don't mention it. We should get going. The interrogations will start soon." He turns around and we follow him. I see my parents sitting in the same place they were yesterday and I walk toward them.

"Good morning, mom, dad" I say hugging them at the same time.

"Good morning, sweetheart" my mom says.

"Good morning, honey" my dad says.

"Good morning Natalie, Mr. Prior" Tobias says from behind me.

"Good morning Four" my mom says smiling.

"Yes, good morning" my dad says a little too abrasive for my taste. "Can I have a word with you, young man?" he asks. I want to protest, but my mom grabs my hand and gives me a knowing look.

"It's ok Tris" Tobias says to me. "Please, sir, after you" he says toward my father and they leave us to talk privately, away from the gathered crowd.

"What's going on, mom?"

"Your father is still a little upset."

"Why?"

"Well, you are his little girl and as far as he sees it you will never grow up."

"But that's absurd. I'm sixteen."

"I know, but he feels you are too young for a boyfriend."

"Oh come on. What about you?"

"Me? Well, I would love to stop time too but I can't. You are a young woman capable to make your own decisions. I'm proud of you, by the way. Your father too. When the Dauntless chose you to become their leader I was so happy and proud I'm sure I broke a few Abnegation rules" she tells me and we both laugh.

"What about dad? Is he proud too?"

"Yes, very much."

"Doesn't he think I'm too young to be a Dauntless leader?"

"In his mind your too young. Period. He wants you to be forever he's little girl. But he will come around. He loves you very much and wants you to be both safe and happy. Give him some time."

"I love him too. And you of course. But I also love Four. He might not seem like it, but he is very kind, generous, loving, caring, honest, sweet and I could go on. He puts on this mask to not get hurt" I say.

"Beatrice, you have to understand that your father is friends with his father and he saw the heartbreak and disappointment Marcus went through when his only son left him."

"Mom, there are things you don't know. Or actually, you do, but you and everyone else chose not to believe it. I cannot tell you more. It's not my business, but trust me when I tell you that To…Four had every right to leave his father. He had to do it. I know that Abnegation sees him as a traitor, but they shouldn't. And if dad sees him like that as well that means he sees both me and Caleb as traitors. We chose what was best for us. So did Tobias. And if dad cannot understand this then I'm sorry for him. But I won't break up with my boyfriend just because my dad has some preconceived ideas about him" I say sternly.

"This is why I asked to talk to him without you" my dad says from behind me startling me.

"Dad?" I'm so busted right now.

"Beatrice, I had a long talk with your mother last night. You are both right. You are not my little girl anymore and I have to accept that you grow up. You are grown up. But you're still my daughter and I love you and I want what's best for you."

"Thank you, dad. I love you too. And I will always be your daughter and I will always need you and mom no matter how old I am. But trust me, he" I say and take Tobias's hand in mine "is what's best for me. I'm 100% sure of it." Tobias leans down and presses a gentle kiss to my left temple. Both my parents smile.

"This is why I invited them to join us for lunch as soon as possible" Tobias says.

"That would be lovely" my mom says.

"We will have to wait a little though" Tobias says "for all this to calm down."

We all agree and take our places, since Jack announced that the first criminal will be brought out shortly.

The door to our right opens and two Candor guards escort Max outside and toward the chair in the middle of the podium. He sits down and Jack administers the truth serum.

Just like with Jeanine and me Jack starts with simple questions working towards the reason he worked with Jeanine betraying Dauntless and almost becoming a mass-murderer. Max wasn't involved because he believed in what Jeanine said, but for the money. When Jack finally asks him what his biggest regret is he answers "Betraying my faction." Unfortunately, it's too late for that.

The interrogations of the other former Dauntless leaders are rather short compared to Jeanine's and Max's, but we learn that all the other Dauntless leaders including Eric who is yet to be interrogated as soon as the doctors give the all clear were Erudite spies.

By lunch time the last former Dauntless leader is interrogated and escorted back to his cell. Since the next interrogations start at 1:30 PM Tobias and I decide to have lunch in the Candor cafeteria together with my parents.

We sit at a small four seats table and have a light meal. My parents have the fresh garden salad with olive oil, while Tobias and I eat some fish and backed potatoes. We talk about little things. My mom asks me if I'm still sleeping in the dorm and I answer no.

"Where are you sleeping then?" my dad asks.

"Tris decided to move in with me" Tobias answers.

"What?" my dad asks a little loudly. A few people turn their heads toward the noise and my mom rubs her hand up and down my dad's arm in an attempt to calm him.

"Relax, dad."

"How can I relax?"

"Mr. Prior, I promise you nothing happened. I love and respect your daughter. I would never do anything against her will" Tobias says.

"Before you explode, dad, let me tell you one thing. I've been thinking about this for a while. I love Four and he loves me. We decided together that we wanted to live together. We both realize it's rather soon in the relationship but there's no reason to wait for it. I want to ask you to respect my wishes and decisions. They are mine and mine alone. I appreciate your concern and I know you react like this because you love me. But when you do, it only shows me that you don't trust me. I'm aware that this is new for you, but so is this for me. And Four by the way. We are happy together and we want you to be happy for us and support us. But if you think you cannot do that then we have to limit our encounters" I say sternly.

"Tris, you don't have to do this. It's only normal that your dad is worried about you. I'm a stranger and as far as he knows I'm a faction traitor" Tobias tries to calm me.

"I don't really believe that" my dad tries to defend himself. "I saw what it did to your father, but I don't think you're a traitor. I would be a hypocrite if I would believe and say that. You chose what was right for you and so did my children. It hurt of course and I miss them, but they chose this new life. And Beatrice I don't want to lose you."

"Me neither. But if you have real concerns about Four then talk to us or to him. Get to know him. Don't judge him before you even know him. Because I swear to god if you do that I won't ever forgive you. And it's not just about him. It's you not trusting me and my judgment. Let me ask you something. When you heard the Dauntless nominating me to be their leader were you proud?"

"Yes."

"Do you think I can do this? That I'm mature enough to do it?"

"Yes."

"So you trust that I can do that?"

"Yes."

"Then why can't you trust that I know how to pick my boyfriend. It didn't happen overnight. And we are not together because we look cute together. We fell in love with each other. If this, us, is a mistake let it be my mistake not yours. But just that you know I don't believe that loving Four is a mistake. In fact, I think it's both the best and wisest thing I ever did in my life and I thank god for crossing our paths. I'm sure I will never meet anyone as caring and supportive and honest and brave and loving as he is. And if you can't see that, then I'm sorry for you. But I will never ever let you dictate my life. It's mine and mine alone. Have I made myself clear?" I ask a little loud.

"Yes, Beatrice" my dad says smiling. What in the world is he smiling about.

"I think you passed some sort of test" Tobias whispers pulling me out of my own thoughts.

"Huh? What?"

"It wasn't a test" my dad says obviously having heard what Tobias told me. "Not really. I wanted to talk to Four to learn about his intentions about you and he told me a lot. Including that you two are living together. I wanted to see if you would tell me or not. You have to understand, both of you, that it is hard for me to picture my little girl as the strong, independent woman she has become. I'm really proud of you and the fact that you defend your love and relationship so ferociously I might add is proof that you truly love him. And he was just as convincing about his feelings when I talked to him privately. I just want to make sure that you are happy and safe and well taken care of and I do believe that Four is the right one for you. But if you ever hurt my little girl, Four, I will kill you" he says pointing a finger toward Tobias, but his voice is even and doesn't betray any kind of ill will. He wouldn't be my dad if he wouldn't try to look out for me.

"Good. I want my family near me and Four is now a part of it" I say and glance toward him. He smiles a warm smile that melts my heart.

"You two are so cute" my mom says and we both blush.

We finish our meal and head back to the yard where the interrogations will continue. We just arrive in the yard when Marcus comes toward us, a fake smile on his face. I feel Tobias stiffen beside me and grab his hand.

"Hello Tobias" Marcus says.


	8. Chapter 8

8

Tobias tightens his grip on my hand but I remain silent. I know how uncomfortable he s right now.

"How many times do I have to tell you that my name is FOUR?" Tobias spits.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think you were still keeping that silly nickname now that you're a faction leader" Marcus says in the most innocent voice he has.

"Well, I do. So if you want to talk to me, which to be frankly I hope you don't, please address me with Four" Tobias says angry.

"What have I ever done to deserve this kind of treatment from my own son?" Marcus asks outraged.

"Really? You can't think of anything?" I ask mockingly. Marcus glares at me and I feel the urge to back off but I don't want to show any kind of weakness in front of this… I don't think man would be an appropriate term. This monster. Yeah, that's better.

"Please, don't interfere between my son and me, girl" Marcus snarls at me.

"Don't you dare disrespect her" Tobias warns.

"Now what did I do to deserve this aggression?" Marcus asks defensively, clearly putting on a show for my parents and those who are watching us.

"What do you want?" Tobias asks dismissively.

"I want to talk to my only son. Am I not allowed too?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"We should sit down. The next interrogation will start soon" my mom says trying to calm the situation.

"Yes, come on everyone, let's take our seats" my dad encourages. I tuck at Tobias's hand and make him follow me to our seats leaving Marcus just standing there. God, how I hate that man. I wish we could go home and I could hold Tobias in my arms, soothing his pain away.

The interrogations of the remaining criminals go smoothly and by six o 'clock we are done and can finally go back home. During the interrogations we've learned a few new names that will be arrested shortly and then interrogated. According to Jack we don't have to be present at those interrogations since they are all Erudite. I find it a relief since we really need to focus on Dauntless now. I need to talk to Tobias, but I'll do that tomorrow. We need our rest and he needs to relax.

We say good bye to my parents and leave to get the train. The train ride home is quiet. I don't want to disturb Tobias. He will talk to me when he feels like it.

Fortunately we manage to get to his apartment without being seen. He unlocks the door and opens it, allowing me to enter first. It's still early for supper so I decide to take a shower first. I think it's best to let Tobias think things through without me as an audience. I grab some black yoga pants and a baggy t-shirt, as well as a big, fluffy towel. I let the warm spray of water hit my skin and for a moment I close my eyes.

I can't believe that only two days ago my greatest worry was if I made it into Dauntless or not. Now I'm not only a member, but also one of the two new leaders. Thank god Tobias is in this with me. I don't think I could do this without him. I open my eyes and grab the body wash. It's Tobias's and it smells woodsy. I love it, but I think I'll buy myself another one. If I think about it I need a few things. And we need to stock up the fridge. Not that I mind eating in the cafeteria, but it would be great to have at least some snacks in the apartment for whenever we feel like just staying home. Home. I thought it would be awkward to call this apartment, his apartment, my home, but it's not. No scratch that, it's not even the apartment, it's Tobias. I'm home whenever I'm with him. I never thought I would feel this way for someone other than my parents and brother, but I do. And what's remarkable I feel even more at home with him then with my family.

I get out of the shower and towel dry myself and put the new clothes on. I walk into the bedroom and find Tobias lying on his back staring at the ceiling. I decide to lie down next to him. He immediately wraps me in his arms and places a soft kiss to my forehead.

"Tobias."

"Hmm?"

"We need to go shopping" I say. He laughs. "What's so funny?"

"I thought you would say we need to talk" he answers.

"We'll talk when you're ready. But we do need to buy some stuff. I need to buy a few things. Do you want us to go now before supper or afterwards?"

"We can go in a minute" he says serious now.

"Ok."

"Tris?"

"Hmm?"

"About what happened today… thank you for standing up like that for me in front of your parents and defending us" he says. I sit up to look at him.

"You don't need to thank me. You would have done the same" he nods "besides my dad needs to get the idea that I'm not a child and I love you very much and I'm not gonna allow him or anyone come between you and me. If we want to be together that's our business. If we wanna split, again our business. But I don't want to break up. Ever" I say and a few stray tears roll down my face. He wipes them away with his thumbs and kisses my lips.

"I don't want to break up either. Never. I love you so much Tris" he says emotion thick in his voice.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What did my dad tell you? Did he threaten to hurt you?" Tobias laughs.

"Yeah, he did actually. But I told him there is no need to threaten me" he starts talking but I interrupt him.

"'Cause your stronger than him" I ask jokingly knowing full well that that was not what he meant.

"I kept that to myself. No, I told him that I love you and that I would never hurt you. At least not on purpose. And I told him that I wanted him and his wife to get to know me."

"That's sweet, Tobias. I want that too. Once my dad sees that you're not only a good guy but the best thing that ever happened to me he will absolutely love you. My mom probably loves you already" I say. He blushes slightly and I find it the most adorable thing in the world.

"I really want your dad to like me. Even though you are your own boss and make all the decisions I still want your parents to like me."

"Of course you do. You know why? Cause you are a nice, honest, decent guy that would never do anything shameful or dishonest and I love that about you."

"There's another thing."

"Marcus?" I ask already knowing the answer. He nods.

"I can't stand being close to him. I want to ask you something. I know it's selfish and I probably shouldn't, but I'll do it anyway."

"Tell me."

"Could you go to the monthly meetings of the city council?" he asks surprising me. I thought he would ask or tell me something more intimate. But I get why he's asking. If I were in his shoes I would do the same.

"You are not selfish. Besides we are partners in this. But for the record you owe me mister" I say jokingly. He smiles and pulls me close to him. I wrap my arms around his neck and we start kissing. Our kiss is slow and emotion thick at first, but then becomes more and more passionate and feverish. I can feel the now familiar warmth that I always feel whenever he kisses me spread throughout my whole body. I let my right hand glide up and down his back, while my left one explores his front resting every now and then over his heart. His heart is beating as fast as mine and it amazes me how someone so gorgeous as him likes someone so boring like me. But for some reason he does and I'm not going to question him. The heart wants what the heart wants.

While I explore his upper body freely he holds me firmly in place with his left arm around my waist, while his right hand slides up and down my side. When he reaches the hem of my t-shirt he slides his hand underneath the fabric and his warm hand sets the skin it touches on fire. His hand travels upward to my breasts and I only now realize I forgot to put on a bra. But for some reason when he cups my left breast I don't stop him. I want more. I want him. He leaves my mouth and travels down my neck placing open-mouthed kisses on every exposed inch of my skin. I suddenly feel very hot and I can feel a tingle between my legs. I push him away slightly and for a moment confusion, rejection and pain rushes over his face. I smile at him and pull the t-shirt over my head exposing my upper body. His eyes widen and he now understands why I pushed him away. He smiles at me and returns his mouth to my neck kissing and sucking the soft flesh. He continues his exploration with his mouth along my collarbone while he uses one hand to knead my now aching breast. Every touch, every kiss sends a bolt of electricity through my body and I feel like I'm going insane. But it's unfair. I'm half naked and he is still fully clothed. We need to change that. I push him away again but this time he isn't upset about it. He patiently waits for me to move. I sit up again and reach for his shirt pulling it up and exposing his upper body to me. We switch places and now he lies underneath me while I'm straddling his hips. I give him the same amazing treatment he just gave me. I take my time exploring every inch of his hard upper body trailing my fingertips up and down his torso eliciting small moans from him. I can't believe that he is so happy right now because of me, because of what I do to him. I love it when he is happy. I always want to see him happy. I can feel his manhood pressing painfully I imagine against his tight black jeans. I wonder how it looks like. I only saw one in biology class in the book the teacher had there. I wonder how a real one looks like. I wonder how it feels like under my fingertips, in my hand, inside me. I blush crimson at that thought and stop suddenly. Tobias looks down to me, his face flushed too, although I wonder if for the same reason.

I crawl back up to his lips and kiss him for a long while, but unlike before the kiss is slow and sweet and just loving. I love the feel of skin on skin and again my mind drifts to more than just kissing. When we finally break apart we look deeply into each other's eyes and smile like two fools.

"That was amazing" he says still smiling like a big goof.

"Yeah, it was. Tobias, I'm still not ready for more, but I'm getting there."

"I know, honey. Don't worry. Whatever the pace, I'm good with it. I promise. But don't ever do anything you don't want to, ok?"

"Ok. But I wanted it. This. I love you."

"I love you too."

We kiss for a little while longer and then Tobias gets up to take a shower. A cold one I imagine. While he's in the bathroom I pick up my shirt that landed on the floor and decide to put a bra on first. Tobias is back out in no time and we decide to go to the store and buy the absolute necessities until tomorrow.

We walk hand in hand to the Pit and people, complete strangers for me, greet us. We walk into the store and I buy myself some new deodorant, a shampoo and hair conditioner, a body wash and some tampons. Tobias and I might be more comfortable with each other than before, but I don't think I want to ask my boyfriend to buy me tampons. I heard some girls do that. Maybe one day I'll do that too, but for now I rather keep that as private as possible.

After I get the toiletries I walk to the refrigerated section and Tobias has already picked out a few items. We decide to buy some eggs and milk, but also bacon, cheese and fresh vegetables. We pay for our groceries and leave the store to grab something to eat for dinner. We decided to pick something up and eat in the apartment just the two of us.

We enter the cafeteria and stop at our regular table where our friends currently eat their supper. I decide to wait there while Tobias gets our food.

"Hey, Tris. You free tomorrow?" Christina asks me.

"I have nothing planned. Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Sure. How about we see each other at breakfast and then go out shopping" I ask surprising her completely with my proposal.

"You want to go shopping?" she asks disbelievingly.

"Yeah, I need a few things."

"Ok."

Tobias gets back to us and we say good night to our friends. We walk back to the apartment and I'm happy we pass only a few people on our way. Tobias opens the door and as usual lets me enter first. We put the bags down on the kitchen counter and take our meal to the bedroom. It's not much, just a few sandwiches.

"We absolutely need a couch" I say before taking a bite.

"We do" he agrees. "Want to go shopping for one tomorrow?"

"After breakfast I promised Christina I would go with her. Well, actually she is coming with me. I still need some new clothes. By the way, we need to figure out what to do next, I mean as leaders. What exactly are we supposed to do?" I ask.

"Lead."

"Ha, ha very funny. Seriously."

"For starters we need to look over the offices, check out the paper work and the first thing we need to do is to assign apartments to the initiates. We also need to figure out what available jobs there are" he explains.

"Ok. How about this? After breakfast I take one hour to buy some stuff and talk to Christina, since she wanted to talk to me about something and then we meet up and check things out. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great. While you are with Christina I will look over the files in Max's old office. He was the head leader and he has all the files. Do you know where his office is?" I shake my head no. "Ok, how about we meet in the Pit after your shopping trip. Or better yet here in the apartment since you need to leave your bags. By the way, here this is for you" he says handing me a key. I raise an eyebrow and he explains further. "It's my spare key so that you can come and go whenever you like." I take it and thank him.

We clean up and I go into the bath room washing my face and brushing my teeth. After I'm done Tobias does the same while I slip into my PJs. Tobias puts on some dark grey sweatpants and a black tank top. We both slide under the cover and snuggle together.

The more time we spend together the more familiar and comfortable we get with each other. It's still new and odd sometimes but it's also exciting to experience all these things with him. I rest my head on his chest letting his steady heart beat lull me to sleep. I yawn a few times and then finally give in and fall asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

9  
The next morning I wake up and find Tobias's side empty and cold. I blink a few times to wake up properly and see that the clock reads 6:30 AM. I turn around and see the bathroom door ajar and hear the water running. Tobias is taking a shower. I don't want to get out of bed so I just sit up and wait for him to come out. After five minutes or so he appears with a towel wrapped around his hips while towel drying his hair. He is so engrossed in what he is doing that he doesn't seem to notice that I'm awake. Which is actually not so bad. I can look him over as much as I want without blushing. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm probably red as beetroot right now. While I'm still taking in his perfect form he turns around and catches me devouring him with my eyes.

"Like what you see?" he asks.

"Very much actually" I answer boldly.

"Interesting" he says grinning and walks over to the bed sitting down on my side. He leans in and captures my lips. We kiss for a while leisurely but then get carried away again. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer to me. He now lies almost on top of me holding himself up with his arms. When the weight becomes too much he pulls back and I pout. He laughs and places a soft kiss to my lips.

"We should stop Tris. Otherwise I can't promise I'll be able to control myself any longer" he says panting. I look down at his lap and can see that he is very much excited right now. At the sight I blush crimson and he stands up, walks to his dresser, grabs an outfit and disappears into the bathroom, this time closing the door.

If things continue this way we'll have sex by the end of the week. And it's Thursday. I get out of bed and put on some black skinny jeans, a black tank-top and my combat boots. I walk into the kitchenette and wait for Tobias to come out.

"Ready?" he asks when he walks toward me.

"Yeah. Let's go. I'm starving."

We walk down to the cafeteria and sit down at our usual table. Uriah and Marlene are already here and we are soon joined by Lynn, Shauna and Zeke. I'm eating my second sandwich when Will and Christina get here. Christina hurries with her breakfast and we get going. Tobias and I decide to see each other in an hour back at the apartment and we kiss good bye. It's a sweet, innocent kiss but Uriah yells "get a room". Tobias glares at him and I blush.

Christina is awfully quiet this morning and I wonder why.

"Chris, what's wrong?" I ask concerned.

"Uhm, nothing."

"Come on. Tell me."

"It's just… I feel like I've lost you" she says in a pitiful voice.

"What? Why would you say that?" I ask surprised.

"Well everything has changed. You are a leader. You are divergent. You are Four's girlfriend. So many changes. And you haven't told me anything" she accuses.

"Christina, I'm your friend. I haven't told you about my divergence because back then I was afraid for my life. It's not that I don't trust you, but what if things wouldn't have turned out the way they did. What if someone would have captured you to get to me? I would have never forgiven myself for that. Make sense?"

"I guess it does. But why haven't you told me about Four? I told you about Will" she takes that accusing tone again. I hate it when she does that.

"First of all, I really don't like it when you attack me like this. And second of all, Four and I started seeing each other shortly before initiation was over. I didn't tell you anything because it wasn't really something I wanted to advertise. I didn't want you to think that my ranking had anything to do with my relationship with our instructor. And it didn't. It really didn't. I worked my ass off and you know it."

"I would have never thought that your rankings had anything to do with you and Four being together" she defends. "I'm just saying it would have been nice if you would have told me."

"Chris, I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, I swear. But I wanted to wait until initiation was over. Even if you would have been ok with it, what if someone like Peter, Molly or Drew would have found out. They hated me for just existing, imagine what they would have done if they would have known something like this. Not to mention Eric who hates both Four and me. There are rules against fraternizing with your instructor. The Dauntless leaders could have kicked us both out."

"I'm sorry Tris. I haven't thought about that."

"It's ok. Doesn't matter now. And if it's worth anything I wanted to tell you the moment initiation was over and we were official members" I say, hoping she believes me.

"It is. Thanks."

"And as for becoming a leader, well you know that story" I say and we both laugh.

"So, any news on the apartment/job front for us other initiates?" she asks hopeful.

"Four and I are scheduled after our meeting to look over the files in the leaders offices. We are going to check if Max and the other former leaders had anything prepared. As soon as we have something I'll let you know, I promise." This seems to keep her mind at ease. The rest of our shopping trip is filled with meaningless chatter and all kinds of advices on what to wear, courtesy of Christina.

Our time together soon comes to an end and we say good bye. I hurry up to get to the apartment almost sure Tobias already waits for me there. To my surprise he's nowhere to be seen and I decide to pack my things away. It doesn't take me long but when Tobias is over twenty minutes late I start to worry. It's not like him to let me wait. What if something happened? I decide to go and look for him. I lock the door behind me and realize I don't know where to go. I look around to see if I can find someone to show me where Max's office is. You would think I remember the way since I already was there, but I was so focused that night to listen to Max and Eric that I didn't pay attention to the path. Maybe if I'm back on the same path I'll remember. Just as I turn a corner a figure appears in front of me. Great. Peter. From all the people I could have run into I run into him.

"Hey, Stiff" he says.

"Don't call me that" I say angry.

"No need to get angry. After all that's what you are" he says with a sneer.

"First of all, wipe that stupid sneer of your face. Second, don't you ever call me that again. And third, I'm not an initiate anymore. I'm a Dauntless leader. Your leader. If I were you I would watch my tongue" I yell at him.

"Or what?" he asks mocking.

"Or I'll cut it out" I hear Tobias growl from behind Peter. Peter backs away from me and raises his hands chest high in defense.

"I was just kidding Four" he says defensively.

"Let me be clear Peter. First, the shit you pulled during initiation didn't pass unnoticed, so watch your back. Second, Tris is one of your new leaders. You will show her the respect she deserves. Unlike others here she was chosen by an entire faction to lead and represent them. I'm well aware that she's more than capable to put you in your place, but always remember there are many Dauntless that would gladly beat the living daylights out of you. Third, if I ever see you near my girlfriend again for any other reason than business I will personally wipe the Pit floor with your sorry ass. Have I made myself clear" Tobias shouts in his ferocious Four voice.

"Yes" Peter says full of spite.

"I didn't hear you."

"Yes, Four" Peter repeats a little louder.

"Now beat it." Peter leaves and Tobias wraps me in his arms. "I know you can handle yourself and I'm sure you're pissed right now, but this is me being your protective boyfriend. You can punch me if you want" he says. He is right. I can take care of myself and I am a little pissed. And I do want to punch him. But at the same time it's the sweetest thing that he acts all macho protecting me from jerks like Peter.

"Maybe later" I say with a fake offended expression. Tobias smiles and grabs my hand leading the way to Max's old office.

"I'm sorry I wasn't at the apartment when you got back."

"It's ok. Where were you anyways?"

"Max's office. I was reading some files and lost track of time. The moment I checked the time I rushed out. I was on my way home when I heard you arguing with someone. It was only when I saw who it was that I lost it. I trust you to defend yourself, I taught you that much, but when I saw Peter I remembered that night when he and those other two almost killed you. I wanted to kill him. All three of them."

"It's ok, honey. I'm not really pissed. I think it's actually sweet" I say.

"Well, you're my woman" he says half jokingly.

"Relax, caveman otherwise you might get a splinter from your bat." He laughs hard at that.

"Wouldn't mind as long as you nurse me back to health."

"Somebody has to. And after this morning I'm not sure I can let you loose on the female population in Dauntless."

"Are you jealous?" he asks with a stupid grin on his face.

"I'm just looking out for all the girls here. They might hyperventilate if they see you shirtless" I say enjoying our little game.

"You haven't answered my question" he points out.

"What question?" I play dumb.

"Are you jealous?"

"I don't have a reason to be. Although it may or may not have crossed my mind to handcuff you to me."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well, I have to say, I wouldn't mind getting handcuffed to you" he says stopping and pulling me into his strong arms. "I trust you completely, but I'm still jealous when other guys are around you. You can call me a caveman for that if you like, but that's the truth. You are mine and I love you."

"You are my caveman and yeah I get jealous. But then I remember that I have no reason to be, like after I take deep breaths for ten minutes or so, I mean" I say eliciting another laugh. We kiss for a moment and then continue to the office.

When we reach it Tobias unlocks it and lets me enter first. We sit down next to each other at the desk and look over some files Tobias pulled out. He and I had the same idea, namely check if the former Dauntless leaders had anything prepared for the initiates. Fortunately for us they have at least the apartment assignments done. As for the job openings we need to assign nine jobs since I already have one.

"Honey, are you going to train initiates next year as well?" I ask. He smiles. I think he likes that I call him honey. I like it.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Would you mind if I would join you training the transfers?" His face lights up and he presses a soft kiss to my lips.

"I would love it" he says. Good. "Then how about we add another initiate trainer for the Dauntless-born?"

"Sounds good. But these are only temporary. We need to find out what permanent jobs are available."

We spend the next three hours looking over the files we could find on job availability and come up with three ambassador jobs, two jobs in the infirmary, one in the tattoo parlor, one in the control room and two fence guarding jobs. We decide to check them out after lunch. We make a list of the jobs, lock the door and head out to the cafeteria.

We grab a quick meal and decide to check if the jobs we came up with are indeed available. Our first stop is at the tattoo parlor. We enter and look for Tori who is currently working on a short pink-haired woman.

"Hello Tori" Tobias and I greet her.

"Oh, hi you two" she says. "How can I help you?" she asks smiling. I don't think I've ever seen her smile. At least not like that.

"We were going through the available jobs earlier and we were wondering if the one here is still available" Tobias explains.

"Yeah. I need help. A lot actually" she answers.

"Ok good."

"Tori, I have to ask you something. Can we talk in private for a minute" I ask her. She nods and leads me into the backroom.

"How can I help you, Tris?"

"I was just wondering, and I know this might cross some boundaries, but I was wondering what made you so happy? Don't get me wrong, I glad that you are, but I've never seen you smile like that. Has it anything to do with recent events regarding divergents?" I ask.

"It's ok Tris. Yeah, I'm glad that this urban legend is out. And I'm thankful for it. I thank you and everyone who is divergent for coming out and showing this idiots that there's nothing wrong with being divergent. Maybe now my brother can rest in peace" she says, her smile a little sad.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up" I say bashfully.

"Don't be. It's a good thing. Whenever you need help please contact me. And if you ever need someone to talk to you know where to find me."

"Thank you" I say and boldly give her a hug.

We walk back out and Tobias and I leave to check the other jobs. Our next stop is the control room. We know for certain that one job is available, since Tobias isn't going back to his. But he decides to check it out anyway. We enter the room and I'm momentarily shocked to see that many computer screens. Tobias told me that there are cameras in the compound, but I had no idea that there were so many. I'm still looking around like a kid in a candy store, not knowing which treat to pick, when Tobias taps my shoulder lightly and I turn around to find him and Zeke standing behind me.

"Hey Zeke. Nice to see you again" I say.

"Hey Tris. Good to see you too" he says.

"We were just checking things out" Tobias starts to explain "and we thought we visit you."

"Oh, how sweet of you" Zeke says jokingly.

"No, serious now. Since I'm not coming back here there is a job opening for one of this year's initiates. But I also wanted to talk to you. Could you come to my office, say in two hours?" Tobias says.

"Your office?" Zeke asks.

"I mean Max's old office" Tobias explains. "Or did you want that one" he asks me.

"No, I'm fine with whatever office" I say honestly. Besides it's not like I've seen any office other than Max's or should I say Tobias's.

"Ok, then. Zeke?"

"Sure. Meet you there in two hours."

We say goodbye and head to the infirmary. We ask to speak to the head of the infirmary, a Dr. Morris, and he invites us into his office. The office walls are filled with all kinds of charts and pictures of the human body, the shelves are stuffed with medical books and some jars with odd looking things swimming inside them. I really don't want to know what's in them if I'm completely honest.

The doctor motions us to sit on the couch while he takes a seat in the adjacent armchair.

"Dr. Morris, as head of the infirmary you surely know if and what kind of jobs are available here, right?" I ask.

"Yes."

"We found in the files of our former leaders that the infirmary offers two jobs here. Is that right?" Tobias asks.

"Yes, that's right. We have two nurse jobs available" he tells us.

"Good. I hope by the end of tomorrow to have two new employees for you" Tobias says.

"That would be great. The sooner they learn how to treat patients the better. We always need a helping hand around here. Especially when school starts and the winter season begins" he says smiling.

"We better get going, Four, to check on the other jobs as well" I say.

"Yes, you are right. Thank you Dr. Morris" Tobias says shaking the doctors hand. I do the same and we leave to go back to the Pire.

"What next?" I ask him.

"The ambassador jobs" he answers. "The fence guard jobs are always available."

"How can we check if the ambassador jobs are available?" I ask.

"We ask Connor Harrison. He is in charge of all the Dauntless ambassadors. We also need to think of a close staff we can trust. But let's discuss this in my office" he says.

"Look at you. Your office" I say grinning. "You like this."

"Well it grew on me. And the more I think about it the more I'm convinced that we made the right decision accepting leadership. We can change things for the better" he says excited. And I have to agree with him. I'm sure there will be ups and downs along the way but together we'll manage.

Tobias opens the door and we enter the office. He uses the phone on his desk and dials a number.

"Hello? Ah, Mr. Harrison. This is Four. Could you please come to Max's old office. I need to talk to you." After he hangs up he turns to me and smiles.

"What?" I ask.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look today?" he asks and I blush deeply.

"No, but I don't think I'm that pretty."

"You are right. You are absolutely gorgeous and I'm the luckiest man in the city to call you mine" he says closing the distance between us. He places his lips on mine and wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer to him. We kiss leisurely until a knock on the door pulls us back to reality. We let each other go breathlessly and Tobias walks to the door to open it.

"Mr. Harrison, please come in and take a seat. You know Tris?" Tobias asks and Mr. Harrison nods. "Alright then. Tris and I have looked over the available jobs for the initiates and found three available ambassador jobs. Is that accurate?" Tobias asks.

"Yes, it is. We need someone to be our liaison with Amity, someone for Abnegation and someone for Candor. We have three ambassadors assigned for every faction" he explains.

"Good. In your opinion is that a suitable number or not?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" he asks confused.

"I don't know much about the job obviously, but are three ambassadors necessary for each faction?" I ask.

"Yes and no. It really depends. Sometimes there is more work to be done than other times" he explains.

"Alright. Is there anyone who supervises them? I know you are in charge, but what exactly do you do, if you don't mind me asking?" I ask him genuinely interested.

"I don't mind, Tris. It is my job to train them and then assign them to the different factions. For that I take into account if the ambassador was a transfer or not and if he showed any kind of ill will toward a faction. For instance if a ambassador was Erudite born we won't assign him Erudite. At least, that's how it should be" he says looking down.

"I gather the former leaders assigned Erudite-born transfers to be our connection with Erudite" Tobias states. Mr. Harrison nods.

"Is that still the case?" I ask. Again he nods. "Thank you, Mr. Harrison for your honesty. We will get back to you regarding every ambassador new or old." He nods and we say goodbye to each other.

After Mr. Harrison leaves I look at Tobias and he looks concerned.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"We need to get the interrogations done. Could you call your dad and ask him if he could come here?" Tobias asks me.

"Sure. No problem. When do you want him to come?" I ask.

"Whenever it's good for him" he says. "I will also call Jack afterwards to ask him to join us."

"Okay." I stand up and walk behind his desk and dial my father's number. While I'm waiting for my dad to pick up someone knocks on the door and Tobias goes to open it. Zeke enters and takes a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"Hello?" I hear my dad answer.

"Dad, hi, it's me, Beatrice" I say.

"Beatrice, honey, is everything alright?" he asks concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Listen I was wondering if you could stop by. Four and I need to talk to you."

I make an appointment for later this afternoon with my dad and ask him not to bring Marcus. And if possible not even mention this to him. When he asks why I remind him that Tobias and his father are not on the friendliest of terms and my dad seems to give in. We say goodbye and hang up.

"I talked to my dad" I say and both Tobias and Zeke turn to me. "He is at Candor right now for the rest of the interrogations. He told me they also interrogated Eric in the hospital. He says he can be here around six in the evening, if that's ok. Since you said anytime I said it would be okay."

"Great, thank you Tris" Tobias says smiling. "I was just talking to Zeke about a promotion" he says looking at his best friend.

"Seems like all those crazy nights when we went on double dates really paid off" Zeke says jokingly. Tobias however glares at him. I know for a fact that Tobias never liked any of those girls, but it still upsets me. I mask it however with humor.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Zeke, can we please focus?" Tobias asks a little angry.

"Chill, man. She knows you had a life before she came along" Zeke says still joking.

"Really? I thought it started when I appeared" I join the teasing.

"Great. Now my best friend and my girlfriend make fun of me" Tobias says trying to sound offended, but he probably realized I'm not that upset so he lets it go.

"Oh, don't be upset, honey. We were just joking I say and kiss his left cheek."

"Aww, you guys are so adorable" Zeke says but then looks serious at us "and if you ever tell a soul I said that I will deny it and terminate our friendship."

"Chill, man. It's not like everyone in Dauntless doesn't know you are a big… Tris what's the word I'm looking for?" he asks me smiling brightly.

"Uhm, teddy bear" I say with a serious face.

"Right. Teddy bear" Tobias says turning to Zeke.

"Alright you two. You had your fun. But seriously, man. What's up with the promotion?"

"First of all, I want you to know that I'm not doing this because you are my friend. You deserve it. Second, I need someone I can trust to supervise the control room. You are more than just my best friend. In the past two years you became like a brother to me" Tobias says emotion thick in his voice.

"Man, I feel the same way. Even though I have a brother I feel closer to you than to anyone" Zeke says chocked up. The two of them hug and I smile. But I can't really contain myself from teasing them.

"Alright ladies, do I need to step out for this bromance moment or can we get back to business?"  
I ask and both guys turn around looking at me like I've grown a second head.

"Girl, that was the funniest thing I've ever heard" Zeke says and bursts into laughter, joined closely by Tobias and me. It takes us a while to calm down again.

"Seriously now" Tobias says still smiling "I need you to be my eyes and ears in there. I need someone I can trust. I will ask the council to start the interrogations as soon as possible, but I already know I can trust you with my life. There is only a hand full of people in this city I can say that about and two of them are right here in this room."

"Ok, man, whatever you need I'll be your guy. When do I start?"

"We'll wait after the interrogations of the Dauntless members to make it official, but I want you to keep an eye at the monitors in case something fishy is going on. Until this whole mess is cleared it's better to be safe than sorry."

"No problem. So, you guys have any news about apartments and jobs for the initiates?" Zeke asks.

"Did Uriah ask you to ask us?" I inquire raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. We met by accident when I was on my way here and he insisted I ask you. So?"

"Tris and I found the list of apartment assignments the former leaders prepared. We also checked on the jobs that are currently available. We will give each initiate a copy of the job list at supper."

"That's great. Is there anything else you want to discuss Four" Zeke asks Tobias and the two of them share a knowing look, but Tobias quickly dismisses him and Zeke leaves without insisting.

"What was that all about?" I ask the moment the door closes behind Tobias's friend.

"What was what?" he asks innocently.

"That look. I saw that" I say.

"What look?"

"Tobias!" I say in exasperation.

"Alright. He wanted to know if we could hang out later and when I hesitated to answer he said of course after I ask for permission. He was just teasing" Tobias tells me.

"You don't have to ask for my permission, honey, but it would be nice to tell me though. I don't mind if you hang out with your friends."

"Are you already bored being with me" he asks with fake hurt in his voice.

"Of course not. But it's important to have relationships outside this one. There are things that I can only discuss with Christina, cause she's a girl and I'm sure there are things you only discuss with the boys. Am I wrong?"

"No." He kisses me softly and I feel like flying. "Come with me. I've got something to show you."

"What is it?"

"You'll see."

I take his outstretched hand and follow him out of the office and up a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs is a long hallway with doors on each side. I wonder what this place is.

"Tobias, what are we doing here?" I ask.

"As leaders we are entitled to get a bigger apartment. So I thought, why not? This floor is completely empty. We can choose whatever apartment we like. What do you say?" he asks me, his eyes sparkling.

"Wow. Have you seen them?"

"No. I wanted to look at them with you. There are five in total. So which one first?"

"Let's start from the other side of the hallway" I say and we walk to the end of it. He fishes out the right key and opens the door.

It's very dark inside and Tobias looks for the light switch. Once we have some light the room looks nice, dusty but nice. We decide to look around a little. The apartment isn't much bigger than Tobias's. It has a small kitchen, two bathrooms and two bedrooms. It looks more like a bachelor's place than anything else. We both decide this one is not for us. We exit and Tobias locks it again.

The next apartment is on the opposite side of the first. This one is similar to the first, but also has a balcony. But again, it doesn't feel right. The third apartment is right next to the second. Tobias opens the door and my breath is taken away. The sun shines through the tall windows flooding the room with natural light. Unlike the other two apartments this one has a second floor. We decide to inspect the upstairs rooms. We climb the stairs and a small hallway to our right shows us five doors. Three of them lead to three almost identical in shape and size bedrooms, the forth door leads to a large bathroom. The fifth door is the one leading to the master bedroom. I open the door and I fall in love. This room is amazing. Not only is it spacious and has a small bathroom attached to it, it also has a small balcony. I take big steps across the room and open the door to the balcony stepping outside. The view is spectacular. I've never seen anything like it.

"Wow, that's one beautiful view" Tobias says from behind me.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. It's absolutely amazing."

"Can I assume this is it?" he asks smiling.

"We haven't seen the other two, but I'm fairly certain this is our place."

"I like the sound of that. Our place."

"Yes, our home" I say.

"I never had a home before you" he says with tears in his eyes.

"Hey, baby" I say wiping away the stray tear that's running down his cheek. "I promise you as long as I'm around no one will ever hurt you. I love you so much and I want this to be our home. Forever."

"I love you too. But home is not a place. Home is where you are. I don't need anything else. But I have to admit, this looks pretty good too."

"Yeah, it does. Let's explore more. We still have time until my dad arrives. By the way, did you call Jack?" I ask suddenly remembering that he wanted to do that.

"No. I forgot. Doesn't matter, I can talk to him tomorrow. First I need to talk to your dad."

We climb down the stairs and we look around. The room is very big and only now I see that outside the tall windows is an even bigger balcony than the one attached to the master bedroom. I walk outside to inspect it, followed closely by Tobias.

"Tobias, look how amazing this is. This whole balcony just for us" I say in wonder.

"Yeah, it's really big."

"This is so great. If I ever had any doubts not anymore. This is our new home" I say excited.

"It's settled then. This will be our new home" he says while wrapping me in his arms.

"We need to get furniture and all kinds of stuff. Although it will take some time to have that kind of money to move in here" I say feeling a little disappointed.

"Don't worry about the money. I have plenty put aside. I never bought anything but necessities and just for the record you have already earned for two days of work 140 points" he tells me.

"What? How? I barely moved a finger" I say in disbelief.

"As leader you are entitled to 70 points per day, including weekends and holidays since our jobs require non-stop availability. Also, I worked for two years in the control room. I earned 55 points per day. Therefore I have some money put aside. How about we go to the furniture store and buy what we absolutely need right now?" he asks me.

"Tobias, I can't do that. It's your money" I say.

"Tris, it's our money from now on. I don't care. I love you and I want this to be our home. But it's a little hard to see it as our home if it's empty" he points out.

"Alright. Let's go. It's 4:30 PM. We are just in time to take a quick survey and then meet with my dad outside the compound at the tracks. I told him we would meet him there."

Tobias and I leave the apartment and walk together to the Dauntless furniture store. The saleslady greets us politely and asks us if she could help us. We tell her no thank you, since we are just window shopping, so to speak. We want to see what they have and decide what we like. Tobias said he would ask Zeke to help him take measurements later or maybe tomorrow so that everything fits. I'm so excited. I feel like I'm dreaming, but if I am I never want to wake up.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Warning: This chapter contains explicit content. Some FourTris smut for those dirty little minds of yours :)

10

We spend at least an hour in the furniture store when Tobias tells me we need to go. I want to protest at first but then he points at his watch and I remember we were supposed to pick up my dad. We thank the saleslady for her help and patience and head outside the compound towards the train tracks. My dad is nowhere to be seen yet, but it's still early.

"I saw some amazing furniture for the living room while you looked over desks for your home office" I tell him. "I need to show it to you tomorrow when we go back."

"Okay. I'm going to ask Zeke to help me take measurements tonight and tomorrow we can go back and order the furniture we want."

"That's awesome. Do you need me to come with you later or do you need some alone time with your best buddy" I ask teasingly.

"For the record, I always need you" he says wrapping his arms around me and kissing me thoroughly. "But I would like to spend some time with Zeke if that's ok with you" he says.

"Sure. I don't want Zeke telling everyone I'm keeping you on a short leash." He starts laughing and I join in.

"Alright. I'm going for a drink with him after we finish at the apartment, but I won't be long."

"Okay. But Tobias" I start and I'm suddenly nervous about how to tell him this.

"Yes?"

"I need to tell you something. Don't get mad."

"What is it?" he asks concerned.

"Remember the last time you had a drink?"

"Yeah, after capture the flag. I told you that you looked good" he says.

"Yeah. You were kind of weird that night. Not at all like yourself" I say with caution.

"What do you mean?" he inquires.

"Well it wasn't something bad, but you were I don't know too happy" I say hoping he gets it.

"I wasn't drunk, Tris" he says a little upset. Shit.

"I didn't say you were. You were only different. I don't know how to explain it. You acted a little too carefree, so unlike yourself. Don't you remember?" I ask.

He is quiet for a while, thinking maybe about what I said. Maybe he is more upset than he lets on. But we promised to tell each other the truth no matter what. And he really acted differently that night after he drank. But back then I didn't care so much. He was just my instructor and I didn't have to put up with this shit. Now it's different. I'm his girlfriend and we live together.

"Thank you for telling me, Tris" he finally says pulling me out of my own thoughts. I look at him and he stares down into my eyes. "I usually don't drink that much. One beer or two tops. But that night after capture the flag, after we had our moment on the Ferris Wheel you went with Uriah zip lining and I got extremely jealous. I got back to the compound and drank one beer after the other. I thought I wouldn't see you till the next day, but then you entered the Pit looking so happy and beautiful and the alcohol made me tell you exactly what I thought. I always thought you were beautiful, but I never had the balls to tell you. Besides how could I? I was your instructor. If you would have stayed any longer in the Pit I would have kissed you senseless that night" he confesses.

"You were jealous?" He nods. "Of Uriah?" He nods again. "Well, you don't have to be anymore. I'm all yours" I say wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Yes you are. But I'm still going to get jealous whenever a guy comes near you. But I trust you and I know you love me and that you would never betray me. Just like I would never betray you" he says.

"Damn right. Come here" I say and we start kissing again. After we break apart Tobias rests his forehead on mine and stares deep into my eyes.

"I promise I won't drink more than one beer" he says. "But you have to tell me if I act not like myself when I get back to the apartment. If only one drink makes me lose control over myself I will stop drinking altogether."

"You have a deal. I love you, Tobias."

"I love you too Tris."

Just when he leans down to kiss me again someone clears his throat and we both turn to see who it is. Unsurprisingly it's my dad, who just arrived.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Prior" Tobias says straightening up.

"Good afternoon, Four."

"Hi dad."

"Hello Beatrice. So, how can I help you?" he asks.

"Please, Mr. Prior, let's go to my office. We can talk there in private and a lot more comfortable" Tobias says and the three of us head back to the compound.

The walk back is quiet and a little uncomfortable. I know my dad still feels uneasy about Tobias, but I'm sure once he gets to know him better it will all go away. I love Tobias with all my heart and I don't think I would ever love anyone ever again.

We reach Tobias's office and he unlocks it letting me enter first, followed by my dad. He closes the door behind him and me and my dad sit in the chairs in front of Tobias's desk, while he takes his place behind it.

"Mr. Prior, I'm sorry I've asked you to come here, but I don't know anyone else on the council other than you and my father and frankly I don't want to talk to him. The reason I asked you here is that I wanted to know if the council made any decisions regarding the interrogations of everyone in the city."

"Not yet. Why?" my dad asks.

"What happened with our former leaders shook us to the core. In order to rebuild and improve the faction I need to know who I can trust. Of course there are a few people I trust even without the truth serum, but it's better safe than sorry."

"Well we haven't really organized anything but to be honest no one other than you asked about this. But I guess we could organize something."

"That would be great. Is it possible to do the interrogations here?" Tobias asks.

"I don't see why not. But I will have to talk to my fellow councilmen and then get back to you" my dad says.

"There is something else. I want the people who interrogate the Dauntless to be put under truth serum first. Specifically, I want them to be asked if they harbor any kind of ill feeling toward my faction. Also, I want to be interrogated first, since Tris already went through her interrogation. And one last thing I don't want my father here under any circumstance. But if he insists I won't be able to stop him, but at least I don't want him in the room during my own interrogation."

"I think we can make that happen. When do you want to do this?" my dad asks.

"Monday. It's already too late in the week and you are probably still busy at Candor. Here is my private cell phone number. You can contact me whenever you need anything or want to talk to me or Tris."

"Thank you. I assume this number is for my eyes only, right?"

"And moms" I say. My dad nods understanding what we ask.

"As for the interrogations I will talk to the council and get back to you. I think four interrogators will be sufficient. What do you think?" he asks us.

"I think that too. I don't think the interrogations will take very long unless someone is against our faction. We have holding cells here and if anyone sticks out we can transfer that person to Candor."

My dad stays a little while longer and we talk about what else needs to be done for the upcoming interrogations. I write everything down that needs to happen before the actual interrogations take place and make a mental note to get myself a cell phone as well.

Soon my dad says goodbye and leaves the compound with Tobias, who insisted to walk my dad out. I decide to make copies of the list with available jobs for my fellow initiates and grab the keys to all the apartments. When Tobias comes back we decide to head to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. The moment we enter all the initiates gather around us and talking one over the other. It takes for Tobias to put his most intimidating Four mask on to make them shut up.

"We usually have a ceremony where we do this" he starts saying as loud as he can and the Dauntless in the cafeteria stop talking, trying to listen to what their new leader is trying to say. "Given recent events we are going to postpone the welcome party for the new Dauntless members until this whole situation is clarified. Until then Tris and I have here the apartment assignments. We haven't gotten a chance to inspect the apartments ourselves, we found the list among the files of the former leaders. I wanted this to make it a little bit more welcoming for you, but since some of you insisted on getting their apartments" he says glaring at Uriah who shrinks back a little "I will just hand you your apartment key and a list of available jobs."

"I will read your names and you will come forth to get your key and a copy of the job list" I say standing on a bench to be seen by everyone. "Uriah. You are in apartment 36. Welcome" I say and Tobias hands him his key and a copy of the list. "Lynn" I continue "you are in apartment 43. Welcome." This goes on until every initiate gets his key and list with available jobs. Tobias helps me back down and we walk to our regular table were our friends already sit and started eating.

"Nice of you to wait for us" Tobias says sarcastically.

"Not my fault you decided to give the initiates their keys now" Zeke says with his mouth full of mashed potatoes.

Tobias and I sit down and we each fill our plates with potatoes and chicken wings, some pickles and take a slice of Dauntless cake, just to make sure we have it, considering Uriah sits with us. We eat our dinner avoiding talking with our friends as much as possible.

"Are you going to stay with Four?" Zeke suddenly asks.

"Yeah, why?" I ask.

"I didn't see you getting a key" he says.

"Yeah, only we are moving" I say.

"Which reminds me. Could you come and help me after supper. I need to take some measurements to give the saleslady in the furniture store tomorrow" Tobias says and Zeke agrees to help him.

"What apartment did you get?" Shauna, Zeke's girlfriend asks.

"Apartment three. It's near the offices" I say.

"That's a leader's apartment" Lynn says surprised.

"Well duh" Christina starts "she is a leader after all" pointing at me.

"Can we see it?" Marlene asks.

"Well, it's still empty. There's nothing in there. We are going to the furniture store tomorrow to order what we need. But if you want you can help us when the stuff gets here" I say.

"Sure. We will gladly help you" Shauna says smiling.

"Just tell us when and we will come and help you guys" Christina says.

"Thank you, that's really nice of you."

"Can we gentlemen come too or is it just the ladies" Zeke asks putting on a pouty face.

"I thought that was implied when Shauna offered" Tobias says to Zeke.

"Hey. She's not the boss of me" Zeke says offended.

"Sure I am. Unless you want to cuddle with the couch cushions?" she asks and he blushes a little. We all start laughing at their interaction.

"I will help you too" Will offers.

"So will I" says Uriah.

"Alright then. As soon as we have our stuff we will call you guys" Tobias says. "Zeke, we better get going. I want to get this done."

"Sure. See you later guys" he says to us and gives Shauna a little kiss on the lips.

Tobias gets up too and kisses me on the lips. We say goodbye and I turn my attention back to our group.

"Uriah, you shouldn't eat so much cake. You will get sick" I say when I see him take another slice.

"I never get sick from Dauntless cake" he proudly says.

"Dude, you had like three pieces already" Lynn says. "At this rate you are getting huge."

"Huh" Uriah says, putting his left hand to his chest, acting offended "are you implying I put on some weight?" he asks in a squeaky voice.

"I'm not implying. I'm telling you. You got fat. And you will get fatter." We all start laughing, but Uriah ignores us and continues eating his favorite cake.

"What jobs do you want?" Marlene asks.

"I think I will take the tattoo parlor job" Lynn says. "How about you guys?"

"I want to become a nurse" Marlene says.

"I want to train initiates" Uriah says "and become a faction ambassador."

"I want to train initiates too" Christina says "and I think I will also choose to become a faction ambassador. I don't think I would be a good fit in the control room."

We continue talking for a while but then fatigue takes over me and I yawn. I excuse myself and go back to Tobias's apartment. The walk back seems like forever and when I finally reach the door I unlock it, get inside, lock it back up and walk straight into the bedroom. I'm so tired I only take of my shoes and let myself fall on the hard mattress. I instantly fall asleep.

The next thing I know is that I'm somewhere in the city, in a place I've never been before. It's inside a building I assume. I walk around to see if I recognize something, anything, but I don't. It's dark and I suddenly feel like I'm not supposed to be here. Just then a young woman walks toward me. She looks like she has been crying. I watch her come closer and look at her clothes, trying to assess to which faction she belongs. She wears a black t-shirt and some blue pants. She also looks like she hasn't showered in a while. When she is only inches away from me she looks up and I recognize her. Myra. She is Edward's girlfriend. She left Dauntless after Edward was attacked and he had to leave.

"Myra" I call her name, but soon realize my mouth isn't making any sound. I try touching her but my hand goes right through her. Is this a dream or am I really here? I decide to follow her. Maybe I get a clue as to where I am, although I think I must be in the factionless sector. I try to keep up with her but she quickens her pace. Where is she going? And why am I here? I start running after Myra and stop when she stops in front of a tall woman. I can't see her features, but I'm guessing she is also factionless. Who else would be here? I try to get closer, but suddenly I feel a pull. I try to fight it, but then everything becomes a blur and I wake up.

"Tris, are you alright?" I hear Tobias asking me concerned.

"Tobias?" I ask, sleep thick in my voice.

"Yeah, baby, I'm here" he says caressing my cheek.

"What happened? What time is it?" I ask.

"It's past eleven. I came in and you were whining in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?" he asks genuinely concerned.

"I don't really know. I was in a building, I think in the factionless sector, and I saw Myra" I tell him.

"Myra? She is Edward's girlfriend, right?" he asks.

"Yeah, she was crying and I tried to ask her why but I couldn't make a sound. She also couldn't see me. It was strange. She then started running and I followed her. When she finally stopped a woman appeared and they started talking, but I couldn't hear anything. And then I woke up" I tell him.

"Come here" he says opening his arms for me. I let him wrap me in his arms and I breathe in his scent. I love the way he smells.

"Did you have a nice time with Zeke" I ask him after a while.

"Yeah, I did actually. And I had one beer" he says.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Come on, let's go to bed" he says.

"Yeah. I better put on my PJ's" I say and get up. I go to the dresser and get my PJ's and then go into the bathroom to change. When I come back Tobias has already changed and is currently sitting in the bed waiting for me. I crawl up beside him and snuggle close to him. He wraps his left arm around me and I put my head on his chest over his beating heart. It doesn't take long and I fall back to sleep.

I find myself again in that dark, unfamiliar building that I assume is located in the factionless sector of the city. Like before I walk around trying to find something or someone that can tell me what I'm doing here. I hear voices and instinctively hide, although I doubt anyone could see me. I don't even know if I'm here or if here is actually real or a figment of my imagination.

The voices come closer and I can hear three distinct people talking. Two men and a woman. One man sounds young and a little bit familiar, the other one is a complete stranger. The woman has a deep voice, but other than that I can't recognize anything or anyone. Maybe I am dreaming. There's no way I could verify if I am or not actually dreaming. Unless…

I try to concentrate on my mom. I start calling her in my mind over and over again until she finally answers.

"Mom?" I ask.

"Beatrice? What is wrong, sweetheart?" she asks clearly concerned.

"I don't know. I don't know if this is real or if I'm dreaming" I say whining.

"Where are you? And more importantly, are you there or did you project yourself?" she asks.

"I've projected myself. And I have no clue where I am. I think I'm in the factionless sector. In a building. It's dark and there are people here."

"How did you get there? You usually project yourself and then follow people. Did you follow someone there?"

"No. That's the thing. Last thing I remember I fell asleep and woke up here. What's happening?"

"I don't know, but we will find out. How about I come and see you tomorrow. I'm not part of the council so no one will question my absence tomorrow."

"That'll be great, but we should meet outside of Dauntless. How about that small meadow east of Abnegation. You used to take me there when my ability first showed."

"That's a good idea. Your father gave me Four's number. I will call you in the morning and ask you to come and see me. We don't want to draw attention toward us. Especially now."

"You are right. Mom?"

"Yes?"

"How can I get back home?"

"Try to concentrate on Four. He is there with you, right?" I blush at the thought of my mom knowing I'm currently in bed with my boyfriend.

"Yeah" I say in a low voice.

"Good. Concentrate on him. It should work. If not call me again" she says before adding "I love you."

"I love you too, mom."

I interrupt the connection between my mom and me and try to focus on Tobias. I remember every inch of his handsome face, every detail of his faction tattoo, every touch and every kiss. The more I focus on him the blurrier my surroundings become and suddenly I'm back in my bedroom, wrapped in Tobias's arms. I open my eyes and his lips are slightly parted and I can't help myself and kiss him lightly. When he starts kissing me back I almost regret doing it. I didn't want to wake him. He must be tired.

"You can wake me up like this every morning for the rest of our lives" he says and I feel a warmth spreading throughout my body.

"I didn't mean to wake you. I just wanted a little kiss before I fall back to sleep" I say bashfully.

"What time is it anyway?" he asks.

"No clue." He turns around and grabs his phone and looks at the time.

"It's past two" he says turning back to me. "I'm not really tired right now, if I'm completely honest" he says with a grin.

"Really?"

"Really."

"And what do you have in mind if not sleeping at this late hour?"

"Kissing you senseless" he says before crushing his mouth to mine. Our kiss is feverish and hungry and becomes more demanding by the minute. Tobias pushes me into the mattress laying almost completely over me.

He licks my bottom lip and I open my mouth for his tongue. He explores every little part of my mouth with his tongue making me yearn for more. So much more. He leaves my mouth and starts placing open-mouthed kisses along my neck, sucking and biting gently on the soft flesh. While his mouth worships my neck and collarbone his right hand runs up and down my left side. He reaches the hem of my shirt and pulls it upwards exposing my tummy and my bra covered chest. He leaves my collarbone and starts placing soft kisses on my breast without taking my bra off. He travels further south to my navel licking and sucking his way down. He then pushes lightly his tongue inside it eliciting a moan from me. His adoration set me already on fire but now as he travels even closer to my already soaked wet womanhood I feel like going mad. He suddenly stops and looks up at me, asking silently for permission. I don't know what to say. I still feel uneasy, but at the same time nothing seemed more right than this right now. I nod my head and he continues downwards. He places his hand on my pants and pulls them down, while I prop myself up and then pull my shirt over my head. I'm now lying just in my underwear in front of my boyfriend. I take deep breaths trying to calm my racing heart, but it doesn't seem to work. If anything the moment Tobias looks me up and down the pace of my heart increases so much I'm afraid it will jump out of my chest. I suddenly feel self-conscious and try to cover myself with my arms.

"Don't do that. You look so beautiful. Don't ever try to cover yourself up again" he says lovingly. I still can't understand how someone as perfect as he is likes someone like me. I'm short, I barely show any curve… I really don't get what he sees in me. But whatever it is I'm thankful that it made this happen. He bends down and captures my lips again and I wrap my arms around his neck and boldly snake my legs around his waist pulling him on top of me. We both moan at the contact and I can feel his engorged manhood pulsating underneath the fabric of his shorts. We kiss hungrily like there is no tomorrow and I can hardly breathe anymore. When air becomes an issue we stop and Tobias leans his forehead on mine and looks deep inside my eyes. This is it. It's going to happen. I thought I would be afraid. But I'm not.

Tobias seems to read my mind somehow because the next thing he asks surprises and excites me at the same time.

"Are you sure?" he asks. YES I shout in my mind, but only nod enthusiastically. He smiles and pulls back a little. He takes his shirt off and moves to his shorts. He gets rid of them in one swift movement leaving him in his birth suit. Oh my god. He looks absolutely gorgeous. I try to swallow past the lump in my throat but find it really difficult. I let my eyes travel up and down his body and I stop at his pulsating member. The lack of light makes it difficult to see properly, but from what I can tell he is big. Really big. At least eight inches. How will that ever fit me?

He leans back down, covering me with his body but making sure to not rest his entire weight on me and starts to kiss me again. He explores my mouth, then travels along my neck down to my collarbone, presses open-mouthed kisses here and there, licks, bites und sucks gently, until he reaches my bra covered breasts. I move to unhook my bra and slide in down my arms and toss it to the floor. Tobias captures one breast with his hand, kneading it, while he sucks on the other one. The sucking combined with the gentle and yet firm touch of his hand makes my bodyheat increase rapidly and I feel like the flames of passion will soon consume me. I arch my back needing to feel more of Tobias. Oh my god. I want him. He switches breasts and sucks on the other one, while his hand kneads my other breast. I don't know how long I can take this torture anymore. I feel like I'm going crazy. When Tobias's hot mouth travels further south to my navel I think I will completely loose it. By now I've moaned and groaned and called out his name so many times and probably so loud that I think the entire compound must know what we are up to. Tobias leaves my navel and finally reaches my now completely drenched panties. He places his head between my thighs and if I wouldn't be so completely focused on his wonderful mouth on my body I would totally be embarrassed by now. He places soft kisses to the inside of my right thigh, then my left, then he returns to my right kissing further down to my right knee, then repeats his actions on the left leg, then he kisses down to my right foot and from my right foot he moves to my left kissing his way up to my womanhood.

When he puts his hands on my panties he looks up at me and I nod in agreement. He removes my panties quickly tossing them on the floor along with the rest of our clothes and kneels down in front of the bed, his face mere inches away from my womanhood.

"You smell so good, Tris" he says and I feel a deep blush color my face. I want to say something but my breath is taken away when he places a gentle kiss to my entrance. I moan loudly and it seems to encourage him because the next thing I know is he starts licking my wet entrance pushing his tongue inside every now and then, while circling my sensitive clit with his thumb. I gasp for air when I feel one of his fingers slowly entering me. He remains still for a while before starting a slow in and out pace with his finger, never removing his mouth from my womanhood.

"Faster" I moan and he obliges. "Quicker" I moan and he obliges again. "More." He adds a second finger and I feel him stretch me more but I don't mind. I welcome the sensation. He resumes his quick in and out movement and I can feel something building inside me, a foreign yet wanted sensation. I thrust my hips against his hand keeping the steady rhythm he started and feel a wave of pure pleasure wash over me as I cry out his name. He continues thrusting his fingers inside me, letting me ride out my orgasm until I fall backwards panting heavily. I feel him remove his fingers from inside me and kiss my entrance one last time before crawling up to lie next to me. I look at him and he has a cocky grin plastered on his face, obviously proud with himself for making me come for the first time. He kisses my mouth, thrusting his tongue deep inside my mouth and I can taste myself. It's a foreign taste that I can't describe, not bad, just unusual. We kiss for a while until we need air again and we pull apart.

"That was… wow" I say.

"You enjoyed it?" he asks.

"I didn't just enjoy it. It was incredible. I've never felt this way before" I say honestly. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"I had two years of listening to the guys telling everyone who wanted to listen what kind of studs they are in bed. I heard one or two things, but never had a chance to try them out until you came along. Don't worry, I've never talked to them about us, not like that, and I never will. What happens between you and me stays between you and me. But after we had our heated make out session yesterday I realized that even if we waited a while longer before we actually make love I should probably read a thing or two to make sure you are comfortable and ready" he tells me and I can't believe how thoughtful he is.

"That's so sweet of you" I say and kiss him again, this time more gentle. "That was amazing. Thank you. Now lie back" I say. He looks at me curiously. "You made me feel great, now it's my turn to do the same to you."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Warning! Explicit content in this chapter.

11

He smiles at me but does as I tell him, lying back on the mattress waiting for me to do something. The only problem is – I don't know what to do. We never talk about these things in Abnegation and even though Christina is very outspoken we never talked about these things either. I think I should do what he did. After all I enjoyed it very much.

I position myself above him, straddling his hips. I bend down and place a gentle kiss to his lips, I then kiss his left cheek, then his right, I kiss my way down along his neck breathing in his unmistakable scent. I linger at his pulse point kissing, licking and sucking gently. I hear him moan and I smile against his skin. I continue my worship of his body kissing my way down and along his collarbone, to his chest giving extra attention to his nipples. I suck on his right nipple and I feel him arch his body toward me. I bite the hardened bud and he moans loudly my name. I then turn my attention to his other nipple licking and sucking it. Tobias grabs the back of my head and pushes me more into him and I know I must be doing something right.

I continue my way down his body placing open-mouthed kisses on his washboard hard abdomen and I feel him contract his muscles every time my hands or mouth touch his skin. I reach his navel and I kiss around it, lick it and push my tongue inside it and Tobias tilts his head back savoring the pleasure I give him. I swallow hard, because I know what is coming. I remember one time hearing some girls in the bathroom in Upper Levels talk to each other about oral sex and even though I was embarrassed listening in I stayed curious to hear more. I always wondered what it would be like and now I will find out.

I get off the bed kneeling down in front of it holding onto Tobias with both hands. He looks at me and even though it's still dark in the room I can tell he is as nervous as I am right now.

"You don't have to do this" he says in a rough voice.

"I know. I want to" I say boldly, surprising myself a little.

I put my right hand around his hard member and I hear him breathe in hard. I start moving my hand up and down his shaft and I hear him moan loudly. I decide to quicken the pace and I feel him pulsate underneath my fingers. I slow down and try something out. I bend forward and place a soft kiss to his tip. I start licking around it and then boldly open my mouth and take the tip in, sucking gently. I hear Tobias gasp and look up to see if he is alright.

"I'm fine" he says breathless.

I smile and return to my task. I take the tip in my mouth again and start sucking on it. I take more and more in although I'm sure I won't be able to take all of him in. When I feel him at the base of my throat I start stroking him with my hand, compensating for what I can't do with my mouth. I increase the pace and I feel Tobias squirm underneath me. I feel him grow bigger in my mouth and when he calls out my name he releases his seed deep inside my mouth. More than half of it runs down my throat but the rest stays in my mouth. When I release Tobias's member I finally taste him. It's not a bad taste, but just like in my case it is unusual, unfamiliar. But I don't regret it.

I wipe my mouth from the extra liquid and crawl up into Tobias's arms. I lay my head on his chest and feel his racing heart. I smile at the thought that it was because of me that he felt this pleasure.

"That was amazing, Tris" he says breathlessly. We remain silent for a while just enjoying the closeness of our naked bodies pressed against each other. He finally breaks the silence when he asks me "where did you learn that?"

"Girls bathroom, in Upper Levels" I tell him.

"Really?"

"Yeah" I say propping myself up to look into his sparkling eyes. "It was shortly before the aptitude test. I was in the girls bathroom, inside a booth, and I heard two girls talking about it. I didn't make myself noticed when they came in and I felt guilty to just get out and making them realize that what was supposed to be a private conversation had in fact an audience. I waited till they left and then got out myself. I kind of dismissed what I've heard, though. There was no reason for me to dwell on what they said."

"It was great. I love you" he says and places a kiss to my lips.

"I love you too" I say after we part again. I snuggle into his embrace and Tobias starts rubbing my back, lulling me effectively back to sleep.

I wake up hours later still in his arms and feel more refreshed than ever. I blink a couple of times to adjust to the now bright room and hear the phone ring. I try to grab it from the nightstand but I'm too far away and Tobias holds me tightly in his arms. I stretch my arm as much as I can to grab the phone, but Tobias grabs it before I can and answers it sleepily.

"Hello" he says in a raspy voice. He still has his eyes closed but opens them momentarily, blushing slightly. "Yeah, just a minute" he says and hands me the phone.

"Hello" I say not knowing who it is.

"Good morning, sweetheart" my mom says. The moment I hear my mom's voice I understand why Tobias blushed and I myself blush a far more deeper shade of red. I jump up sitting completely naked on our bed, letting Tobias have a perfect view over my naked upper body. He quickly regains his composure and grins stupidly at me. I grab the bed sheet and wrap it around my body, turning my back to Tobias who still grins like an idiot.

"Hey mom" I say, trying not to give away anything. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if we could get together today" she tells me and I realize that last night really happened. I really was in the factionless sector and I talked to mom.

"Sure, mom. When and where?" I ask her.

"The meadow east of Abnegation" she says. "Maybe after lunch? Let's say maybe one thirty?" she asks.

"Yeah, sure. See you then and there" I say. We say goodbye and hang up. I turn to Tobias who is currently pouting.

"What?" I ask.

"You turned away from me and I couldn't watch you anymore" he says pouting even harder. I start laughing and he soon joins in.

"Seriously? I had to. You made me laugh and I couldn't just tell me mom why if she would have asked" I tell him.

I bend down and kiss him and he wraps me in his arms. We kiss for a while before I pull away.

"I'm sorry, Tobias" I say, realizing that I fell asleep last night. He probably had more in mind than just oral gratification. He looks at me confused and I add. "I fell asleep last night or actually this morning."

"So?" he asks raising an eyebrow.

"You probably wanted more" I say.

"No" he says firmly.

"No?" I ask him.

"Well yeah. But first of all I told you I'm okay with waiting. And second, what happened this morning between us was more than I could have imagined. The sole fact that you let me do those things to you was more than gratifying. But when you took control and gave me so much pleasure I thought I died and went to heaven. I don't mind that we didn't make love. Actually, we did. Just because it wasn't all the way doesn't mean that it wasn't love" he tells me and I can tell by the look in his eyes that he means it. "We'll do it when we are ready" he reassures me.

"The thing is… I was ready" I say shyly.

"Really?" he asks surprised.

"Yeah. I just knew that I was. I love you and I trust you and I know that you will always make sure that I'm safe and happy and you would never do anything I don't want you to" I say.

"I'm glad to hear that. But we weren't ready" he says and I look confused at him and he adds. "Protection" he says. "I don't have any. Do you?"

"No." I look away embarrassed for not thinking of the most important thing. We really need to get some condoms.

"I'm going to buy some condoms later" he says as if reading my mind.

"I think I'm going to make an appointment with a gynecologist. I heard from Christina there is a shot they give women every three months or so" I tell him.

"Here? I don't think the infirmary is equipped with that sort of thing" he says.

"No, silly. The hospital in the city. Besides I don't need anyone to know what I'm up to" I say grinning.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asks genuinely interested.

"I don't know. I don't even know where to call" I say.

"Maybe I can help you with that. Zeke's mom is a nurse here at Dauntless. I can give her a call and ask her if she has the phone number of the hospital in town. Would that help?"

"Yeah, it would actually."

I hand him the phone and he calls Hana, Zeke's and Uriah's mom. They have a little chat and Tobias writes down the number of the hospital. He says goodbye and hands me both the note and the phone to make my call.

I'm lucky. The gynecology section had an opening for three this afternoon and I take it. I get out of bed, letting the sheet fall down and giving Tobias a good view of my naked back.

"I'm going to take a shower" I say, but before entering the bathroom I turn my head and look over my shoulder and say "you are welcome to join me." I have no idea where this bold Tris came from, but I like her. And so does Tobias. He jumps out of bed and runs toward me sweeping me off my feet, caring me inside the shower cabin. He puts me back down and turns on the water making sure that the cold spray doesn't hit my skin. When the water is warm enough I stand underneath the shower cap enjoying the warmth. Tobias takes my body wash and starts rubbing his hands. When he is soapy enough he starts massaging my neck and back and I can't help the small moan that escapes my lips.

"You like this" he says and I can envision the smirk on his face.

"Uhum" I manage to get out.

"Your back is done. Now turn around" he says and I oblige.

He pours some of my body wash over my chest and starts rubbing it in, kneading my breasts thoroughly in the process. When he's finally done I walk under the spray of warm water and let it rinse the soap away.

"My turn" I say. I take his body wash and start rubbing a generous amount over his chest and abs. After I thoroughly wash his front I turn him around giving his back the same treatment. I trace every detail of his faction tattoo with my fingers making him shiver. I let him go under the warm spray of water to rinse and we both decide to get out and start our day. I'm sure if we would stay in there any longer we won't be able to stop ourselves from exploring each other's body some more.

I towel dry my body and walk into the bedroom. I decide to put on some of the new underwear I bought with Christina – a black lace bra and a black lace thong, I put on black yoga pants and black tank top and a sweatshirt over it. I decide to wear my combat boots since they are comfortable and are best suited to jump on and off trains.

I walk into the kitchenette and make some coffee while Tobias puts some clothes on. Ever since we had this intimate experience together I feel more comfortable around him. I don't know why but I'm more excited and curious than ever to make love to him. I know that the first time will probably suck and it will hurt, but I still want this. I want him. I only now realize how much I yearn for him. I want to feel his mouth and his hands on me, I want to feel his naked body pressed impossibly close to my naked body, I want to feel him inside me, I want to be one with him.

I'm lost in my own thoughts when Tobias comes into the kitchenette and wraps his arms around my middle, pulling me out of my thoughts and close to him.

"Where did you go?" he asks amused.

"I was just thinking about how much things have changed" I say.

"Yeah. I honestly wouldn't have seen myself as a leader. Ever."

"I actually meant us. But yeah, that too."

"Oh. But it's a good change, right?" he asks.

"Very good." He kisses my cheek, never letting me go.

"So, what are your plans for today?" he asks.

"I'm going to drink a cup of coffee, then I'll go to the cafeteria to eat something. Afterwards I go with my gorgeous boyfriend to the furniture store to buy furniture for our new apartment. Afterwards I will… I don't know, depends on how long we take in the furniture store, I will probably eat something for lunch and then head out to see my mom. She wanted to see me and we decided to meet at one thirty. Afterwards I have the doctor's appointment at the hospital and I would like you to come with me" I say looking up to him to see his reaction.

"Of course I'll come. This is not just your responsibility" he says lovingly.

"Good. I'm glad. I don't want to ask Christina. And I definitely don't want my mom to know" I say and I blush.

"Alright. Where are you meeting with your mom?" he asks.

"There is that meadow east of Abnegation" I say and he nods. Everyone in Abnegation knows it. "Why?"

"Do you mind if I pick you up?" he asks.

"No, not at all."

"Ok. When is your doctor's appointment?"

"Three."

"Then how about I come and get you around two thirty?" he asks.

"That'll be great. Thank you."

We drink our coffees and head to the cafeteria to eat something. We walk in and sit at our regular table. None of our friends are here. Either they have already eaten or they are yet to come here. In any case, I enjoy just being with Tobias. We both eat pancakes with caramel syrup and drink a glass of fresh orange juice. By the time we finish our breakfast no one has made an appearance so we decide to go to the furniture store and start picking out our furniture.

The saleslady greets us politely and asks us for the measurements. Tobias gives the note to her and we walk around the store picking out our favorite items. We decide to pick out living room furniture first, since we want to call our friends over soon to celebrate – the end of initiation, me ranking first, Tobias and me becoming leaders and of course the new apartment and our new life together. We look around and see one set in particular that we both like. A set containing a sofa, loveseat, ottoman and coffee table all in a beautiful chocolate color. The saleslady explains us that it's the only one they have in this color and we decide to take it. She suggests that we also buy a matching rug. We look around and Tobias shows me one that I really like. It's a fluffy, soft, khaki colored rug that just makes the whole assembly look homey. We also buy two end tables in the same color scheme and two lamps, with a metal base and a brown fabric shade.

We then look over dining room furniture. The room downstairs is huge and accommodates kitchen, living room and a dining area and we want everything to fit. I look over a few dining tables and find one that's absolutely adorable. It's a cherry wood dining table with six side chairs, each with khaki colored cushions. I show it to Tobias and he immediately agrees. We buy a similar rug only in a somewhat lighter color and look over kitchen islands. Tobias and I decided to buy one since we probably wouldn't use the dining table every day, only on special occasions and I had to agree. I look at several islands before I find something that is both Dauntless and homey alike. It's all black, except for the work surface which is a copper color, a drop leaf table for when we use the island to take our meals, plenty storage space for dishes and such and it also includes two black stools.

We then proceed to the bedroom furniture. The bed is the trickiest piece of furniture. We need to find something that we both like, that is comfortable and big enough for both of us. Although Tobias's current bed is big it's still just for one person. We look around, we sit or lie down on several beds before Tobias taps my shoulder and points toward the biggest bed I've ever seen. It's huge! The saleslady sees us looking at it and comes to assist us.

"This is the only one we have" she says. "We ordered only one, because we weren't really sure if anyone would buy a platform bed."

Platform bed? You can say that again I think to myself. It's really big and gray. Must be another reason no one bought it. Although I think the prize must also be a factor. The saleslady continues to explain to us of what the bed is made and tells us how comfortable it is. At some point she offers to let us try it out, lie in it, get a feel for it. She leaves us alone and we both sit down.

"It's really big" I say.

"Yeah" Tobias agrees.

"And gray" I add.

"Yeah, although it's dark gray, but I get what you mean. So, what do you think?"

"I don't know. Can we afford this?" I ask.

"Of course we can. Besides it's a long term investment. Imagine all the fun we will have in this oversized bed" he says with a cocky grin that's making blush.

"Tobias, not here" I chastise him. He smiles and comes over to where I am standing and takes me in his arms.

"How about this? Think of early mornings when our kids come running into our room because they want to cuddle with mommy and daddy" he says and I can already see it. Tobias and me lying there, in that bed, still asleep when two toddlers run inside our bedroom trying to get our attention and when we finally wake up we help them into bed and we all cuddle together. My heart melts at the thought of that actually happening and I look at Tobias who smiles brightly. I just now really realize what he said. Our kids. He actually thought of him and me having kids.

"You want kids?" I ask shyly.

"Yeah. Lots of them."

"How many?"

"At least ten" he says.

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"Come on."

"Alright. At least two, but maybe four." I don't get the chance to say something, because the saleslady returns and asks us we decided. We both say yes at the same time and start laughing. We also buy two matching nightstands, with two lamps similar to those in the living room, only with dark gray fabric shade, a black wardrobe, a black six-drawer double dresser and a black vanity set with matching black bench with white cushion. The saleslady writes everything down and tells us that the store's movers will deliver everything tomorrow at ten at the new apartment. We thank her and leave the store heading to the home store where we buy bedding, towels for both the bathrooms and kitchen, kitchen supplies, pans, pots, dishes, tableware and lots more. The store offers a delivery service as well and we ask that all our purchases should be delivered tomorrow at noon to the new apartment. Tobias pays for everything and we head next to the electronics store. I didn't want to, but Tobias insisted.

I've never been to an electronics store before. I look around at all the devices and gadgets and wonder if I will ever learn what they are and what they do. Tobias looks over a huge screen and asks the salesman something I can't really hear. The music in the store is so loud that I can barely hear myself think. Tobias leaves me alone for a while, telling me he needs to check something and I look over some cell phones that are on display. I see one that I really like. It's black, but it has a magenta colored butterfly engraved. I try to look at it more closely, when someone snatches it out of my line of sight. I look up and the same salesman that talked to Tobias puts the phone in a box and gives it to me.

"What should I do with it?" I ask him.

"It's yours" he says.

"What?"

"Your boyfriend saw you looking at it and told me to give it to you. Do you need some help with it?" he asks smiling. I nod my head and he explains how everything works. By the time the salesman finishes his explanation Tobias appears next to me and hands me a small card.

"What do I do with this?" I ask holding up the card.

"It contains your phone number and allows you to make and receive phone calls. Here" he hands me a note with a sequence of numbers "it's your phone number. You can give this note to your mom so she can call you whenever she likes and you can call her with your new phone. Here, let me help you" he says and takes both the phone and the card out of my hands. He slides the card in and starts the phone. He types a few keys and then gives it to me. "I memorized my number in the phone. You can call me whenever you need me" he says smiling.

"Thank you" I say and I wrap my arms around his neck kissing him on the lips. I so don't care that we are in public right now. I must have the most thoughtful boyfriend in the whole world.

Tobias pays for everything and we head to the cafeteria to eat lunch. I can't believe we've spend almost four hours buying stuff.

We sit at our regular table and one by one our friends join us. We tell them that we purchased most of our furniture and that everything will be delivered tomorrow at ten and then a second delivery from the home store at noon. They all tell us they'll help us and we thank them repeatedly. I finish my lunch and say good bye to my friends. I would have walked alone to the tracks, but Tobias insisted to come with me. We don't wait long for the train and I almost think of not going at all. But I really need to talk to my mom. I need her help and advice now more than ever. I kiss Tobias goodbye and jump on the train leaving my new home behind and heading to my old one for the first time in months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here some links for FourTris's new furniture.
> 
> 1\. Living room furniture   
> http://www.amazon.com/Bobkona-Seattle-Microfiber-Loveseat-Chocolate/dp/B003SX0KE2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421780610&sr=8-1&keywords=living+room+furniture
> 
> 2\. Living room rug   
> http://www.amazon.com/Luxbon-Wholesales-Flexible-Bathroom-Decoration/dp/B00JO6Z0L0/ref=sr_1_49?ie=UTF8&qid=1421781023&sr=8-49&keywords=living+room+rug
> 
> 3\. End table   
> http://www.amazon.com/Leick-Chair-Table-Slate-Finish/dp/B001OM4WH0/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1421781231&sr=8-10&keywords=living+room+side+table
> 
> 4\. Lamps (living room)   
> http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Designs-LT2013-WHT-Nickel-Basic/dp/B00CM5TWGO/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1421781403&sr=8-6&keywords=lamps
> 
> 5\. Dining room table   
> http://www.amazon.com/Brand-Cherry-Finish-Dining-Chairs/dp/B00I8PBJXQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1421781704&sr=8-2&keywords=cherry+wood+dining+table
> 
> 6\. Kitchen island  
> http://www.amazon.com/Home-Styles-5003-94-Kitchen-Distressed/dp/B002KE6ZAI/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1421781865&sr=8-15&keywords=kitchen+island+stools
> 
> 7\. Stools  
> http://www.amazon.com/Winsome-Saddle-24-Inch-Counter-Walnut/dp/B001E95R3G/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1421782407&sr=1-1&keywords=island+stools
> 
> 8\. Bed  
> http://remodelhomeideas.com/12784/luxury-platform-bed/luxury-platform-bed-with-rossetto-coco-king-size-platform-bed-in-brown-finish-1597kb/
> 
> 9\. Nightstand  
> http://www.amazon.com/Prepac-Sonoma-2-Drawer-Nightstand-Black/dp/B0018SSCZI/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1421784730&sr=1-2&keywords=grey+nightstand
> 
> 10\. Wardrobe  
> http://www.amazon.com/South-Shore-Collection-Storage-Cabinet/dp/B008P7TGBY/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1421785023&sr=1-1&keywords=black+wardrobe
> 
> 11\. Dresser  
> http://www.amazon.com/South-Shore-Collection-6-Drawer-Dresser/dp/B002TSAEAC/ref=pd_sim_hg_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=0AG2KMSEB2N3BX57SPQ2
> 
> 12\. Vanity  
> http://www.amazon.com/Linon-Home-Decor-Vanity-Butterfly/dp/B00578EI5S/ref=sr_1_7?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1421785051&sr=1-7&keywords=vanity


	12. Chapter 12

12

I barely register that the train approaches Abnegation. I jump to my feet and walk to the door waiting for the train to slow down enough for me to jump off. I almost fall over when I hit the ground but manage to regain my balance quickly. I really need to practice more jumping on and off trains. I'll ask Tobias if he would like to do that with me. Or maybe Christina. I wasn't a really good friend to her lately. I make a mental note to ask her when I get back to Dauntless. I walk the familiar path through Abnegation and resist the urge to walk toward my parent's house. It's odd. I thought I would still see it as home. It is, sort of, but now that I'm starting my new life with Tobias my home is with him in Dauntless.

I walk passed the gray Abnegation houses and head east toward the meadow where my mom probably waits for me. I'm not disappointed when I find her sitting under the old oak tree, where we used to spend hours when I was a kid. It was the only place Caleb and I could enjoy our childhood without the restriction of Abnegation upbringing rules. Back then I didn't understand why my mom let us do this, but now that I know that she was Dauntless-born it makes sense.

"Hey mom" I say and apparently pull her out of her own thoughts.

"Hello, sweetheart" she says smiling.

"Thanks for meeting me here" I say.

"Beatrice, please. You know I would do anything for you and your brother" she says. "Do you want to sit down or take a walk" she asks.

"Let's take a walk" I say. We walk for a while before I start telling her what happened yesterday after I fell asleep. When I finish my story mom remains quiet for some time, obviously thinking about what this means and why it happened.

"And it never happened before?" she asks.

"No, I would have told you. On the train ride here I thought maybe my mind connected to Myra's since I met her during initiation, but we were never close to bond like this. I mean if I couldn't create this bond between Caleb and me, why would it be possible with a complete stranger?"

"Maybe it had nothing to do with her" mom suggests.

"Then why would I go there? I don't know anyone there."

"Yes, but maybe it doesn't have anything to do with a person. Maybe it's the place that's calling you" she says, not sure of what she is implying.

"Really mom? Am I not enough of a freak?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"You are not a freak" my mom says and starts laughing. I join her. The freak-thing is our inside joke for my ability. After a while my mom looks serious at me and adds "Maybe your ability develops, grows. Remember when you where little you could only hear my thoughts when it was completely silent around you and you touched my hand?" she asks. I nod. "Then when you got older you managed to read my mind by just concentrating, without touching me. And after that you managed to create the connection between the two of us and we started talking in our minds with each other. I'm well aware that you had to practice a lot to be able to do this, but it also came in time. The older you got the stronger you became. Maybe this is a new stage" she suggests. I have to think about it. But until I can figure out what it really means maybe I shouldn't kill myself over things I can't control.

"I went furniture shopping today" I say and she looks curiously at me. "Four and I are moving into a bigger apartment" I explain.

"That's nice. I can't wait to see it. If I'm invited, of course."

"Of course, you are. Both you and dad. Four and I would love to have you over."

"You really love that boy" my mom says caressing my cheek.

"Yeah, I do. And he loves me" I say happy.

"I've noticed. So did your dad. I know he was a little harsh in the beginning, but he didn't really know the boy when he lived here and when he left Marcus he thought that he was just ungrateful. And when you told us that he is your boyfriend your father lost it a little. He loves you very much and wants what's best for you" she says and I try to say something, but she holds her hand up silencing me. "Your father insisted on talking personally to him, get to know him a little. After that talk at Candor your father told me that he was convinced that Four loves you very much, especially after he defended your love for each other the way he did. I think it also helped that you stepped up too."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Tob… I'm sorry, Four is eighteen years old and a lot more mature than you at your sixteen years, but the way you defended Four's honor and fought for your love made your father realize that you are not our little Beatrice anymore, but a strong, independent, grown woman."

"Mom, I'll always be your Beatrice, but yeah I've grown up a lot since I left Abnegation. Four helped me a lot. But I can assure you he would take a bullet for me before hurting me. And I would do the same for him."

"I'm glad to hear that. That you love each other so much, not the taking bullet part" she says and we laugh.

We walk around for a while longer talking about small things and I don't even notice when Tobias approaches us.

"Good afternoon, ladies" he says and I jump up when I hear him.

"You startled me" I say.

"I'm sorry" he says and kisses my cheek. "Hello Natalie."

"Hello Four. It's nice to see you again" my mom says smiling. Yeah, mom really likes my boyfriend.

"Nice to see you too. Here, this is for you" he says and hands her a package.

"What is it?" she asks curious.

"Dauntless cake" he says smiling.

"Really? Oh my god, I haven't had Dauntless cake since I transferred to Abnegation. Thank you so much. That was very thoughtful" she says.

"You're welcome. Maybe we can organize one when you visit us for that lunch" he says.

"That would be wonderful."

"Did Tris tell you about the new apartment?" he asks enthusiastically.

"Yes. I can't wait to see it."

"Maybe you and your husband can come over for lunch next Sunday. I would have loved it to be this one, but we get the furniture delivered tomorrow and it will take some time to clean up" he says.

"If you like I could come and help you" she offers.

"That's not necessary" Tobias says. "Our friends will come over and help us."

"It's not a problem. Unless you don't want me to come."

"No, no Natalie, that's not what I meant at all" Tobias says apologetically. "You are always welcome to come over. I just meant you are our guest, I won't let you work."

"Please, we are family now" she says and we both blush.

"You know what? If you want to come and help us you are more than welcome to join us tomorrow" I say. "Right, Four?"

"Definitely" he agrees.

"Alright, it's settled then" my mom says.

"Tris, we really need to get going" Tobias says and I realize that I have the doctor's appointment.

"Thank you mom for everything" I say and hug her tightly.

"You're welcome, sweetheart. And thank you for the cake, Four" she says hugging him.

"You're welcome Natalie. How are you planning on coming to Dauntless?" he asks.

"I'll take the train. I was Dauntless after all" she says smirking.

"That's out of the question. I'll pick you up tomorrow. Say nine thirty?" he asks.

"How are you going to do that?" I ask curiously.

"I'll drive here" he says ambiguously.

"With what?"

"The Dauntless SUV" he answers. "How do you think I got here?"

"The train?"

"With the Dauntless cake in my arm? I don't think so. Being a leader has it's perks" he says grinning.

"Alright."

"So, Natalie, is nine thirty okay for you?"

"Yes. I'll wait for you at the Bus station" she says.

"You don't have to. I can pick you up from in front of your house."

"I know, but I also know you don't want to see your father. Now I don't know the reason, that's yours to know, but I saw that you don't see eye to eye" she says.

"Thank you Natalie. That's very thoughtful of you. Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow at nine thirty at the Bus station."

We say goodbye to my mom and she heads back to Abnegation and we toward where Tobias parked the car. It's unsurprising to see that the SUV is all black and I have to smile. We get in and Tobias drives expertly through the city toward the hospital.

We arrive at the hospital ten minutes before my appointment and get ourselves to the gynecology section. I give the front desk nurse my name and she tells me to take a seat until the doctor can see me. Tobias and I sit down on one of the loveseats and hold hands in complete silence. It doesn't take long and a tall red-haired woman comes out and calls my name. I get up and pull Tobias with me. We both enter the doctor's office and sit down in the two chairs in front of her desk.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Montgomery and you are Beatrice Prior, right?"

"Hello, yeah, although since I've joined Dauntless I'm known as Tris" I say.

"Alright" she says writing something down, probably my Dauntless name. "And you are?" she asks Tobias.

"I'm Four, Tris's boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you Four" she says smiling.

"Nice to meet you too" he says.

"So, how can I help you today?" she asks.

"Well" I suddenly feel my throat very dry and I'm nervous.

"You don't have to be embarrassed. Everything you tell me stays between us. If you want to talk to me alone I'm sure Four wouldn't mind waiting outside" she says and Tobias nods in agreement. He actually gets up but I'm pulling him back down.

"No. I want him here. It's just, I'm not used to talk about these things" I shyly say.

"Don't worry, Tris, you don't have to be ashamed. I have a lot of young girls coming to me for advice" she says reassuringly.

"Alright. You see, Four and I have been together for a while and we love each other very much" I say and I feel Tobias holding my hand "and we decided that we are ready for the next step" I say and the doctor nods in understanding.

"Alright, Tris, I understand. First of all you need to understand, both of you, that having sexual intercourse is not just fun, but also a big responsibility. You two are very young and even though there might be many of your friends who engage in this sort of activity you should never feel pressured to do it just because your friends do it. Also, you should never engage in having intercourse if one of you doesn't want that. There are many studies that show that in many cases if the partners engage in oral or vaginal sex one or both might feel guilty or experience negative feelings afterwards. When you give yourself to the other it needs to happen on your own terms and not because of a schedule. It is also important to communicate what you like or dislike, not just physically, but also emotionally. You have to understand that once you make this move you will never go back."

Tobias and I sit there listening for another twenty minutes to what the doctor has to say. I knew that having sex was a big deal, but I never guessed this. Dr. Montgomery explains the pros and cons both physical and emotional of having sex. She explains the different kinds of contraceptive methods and the benefits and contraindications of each. When she is done explaining both Tobias and I are red as beetroot, but the doctor doesn't comment. Instead she actually congratulates us for seeking counseling before we have sex for the first time, unlike so many other's our age that just come in when they get pregnant or feel like they have made a terrible mistake or even contracted some disease. She then asks Tobias to leave the room to give me a proper physical exam. I go into the small bathroom attached to her office and change out of my clothes and put a hospital gown on. I exit the bathroom and sit on the examination table and wait for the doctor to start.

"Whenever you feel uncomfortable or something is wrong please tell me" she says.

"Okay."

While she examines my most intimate part she explains everything she is doing, as well as what she is using or what she is looking for. She asks me if Tobias and I have tried out things and even though I still feel a little uncomfortable talking about these things I tell her about our morning experience. She tells me that while for men oral gratification is just another way of having sex, for most women it's just foreplay. She also tells me to make sure that I'm ready for the actual sexual contact, no matter if it's the first or the hundredth. It's always important.

When she's done examining me I go back into the bathroom and change into my clothes. When I get out Tobias sits in his chair again and I sit next to him. She explains to me that for some contraceptive methods I'm too young and even though condoms protect you to ninety nine percent from unwanted pregnancies and venereal diseases, they are somewhat unpopular among stable couples. Therefore she prescribes me a monthly shot that I can get at the hospital. She asks me if I'm okay with that and when I agree we walk behind a room divider and she gives me the first shot. I need to come back every month at the same time. She also tells us that it will take at least twenty four hours for the contraceptive component in the shot she just gave me to activate and we should use condoms before that time. Before we leave she gives us some pamphlets on safe sex, venereal diseases, pregnancy, condoms and the contraceptive shot. We thank her, say goodbye and I make an appointment for next month to get my second shot.

Tobias takes my hand in his and we walk to the car in silence. The drive back to the compound is also unusually silent and I start to feel uneasy.

"That was quite a lot" Tobias suddenly says and I look up to meet his eyes.

"Huh?"

"The information the doctor gave us."

"Yeah, a lot" I manage to say.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. It's just it's so real now" I say in a low voice.

"Yeah, it is. But just because you got that shot doesn't mean we have to you know."

"I know."

We stay quiet after that and before I know it we are back in the compound. Tobias parks the car in the underground garage we get out and walk back to his apartment. I walk into the bedroom and fall backwards on the bed sighing loudly.

"What is it?" Tobias asks amused.

"That was so clinical" I say.

"Yeah, it was" he says and lies down next to me, propping his head in his left hand. He runs his right hand up and down my right thigh and I shiver slightly. He smiles at me and bends down to kiss my lips. When we part we look into each other's eyes and smile. "I meant what I said. I'm okay with waiting. There's no rush." He is so sweet sometimes.

"I know. Thank you." I cup his face in my right hand and he leans in. We kiss leisurely for a while and then decide to just go to the cafeteria and eat supper. It's no surprise to find that the cafeteria is practically deserted. Well, it's only six thirty in the afternoon. Most Dauntless won't eat their supper until at least seven thirty. Tobias sits across from me so that we can engage in some light conversation about what we want to do the next few weeks. We decide to make a plan once we return to work Monday morning and set some targets for each week, then month and maybe year. By the time we finish our meal none of our friends is in sight, so we head back to the apartment. Tobias let's me take a shower first, but I beckon him with my finger to join me. He doesn't argue and follows me inside the bathroom. We undress each other while kissing passionately and almost forget to actually shower. It takes us over an hour to finish and I have to say I highly doubt I will make it any longer without being with Tobias. I have to applaud his self-control. He had to tell me three times to slow down and I have to admit I've surprised myself with this behavior. We get out of the shower, wrapped in fluffy towels and lie in bed kissing and touching each other. It's innocent really, none of us wants to ignite a fire we can't stop. Tobias never went for those condoms after all and we still have to wait until tomorrow for the shot to activate in my system. Maybe it's a good thing, though. I know for certain that I love this man and that I want him. And there's no chance I will ever regret giving myself to him. Besides I'm not the only one who's giving something. He is too. I give him my virginity and he gives me his. I realize that this is special for both of us on so many levels. I think we should do something special to mark this milestone in our relationship.

"Tobias?" I ask in a low voice.

"Yes?"

"I want us to make love in the new apartment, in our new bed" I say and blush.

"Whatever you want, sweetheart." He leans in and kisses me thoroughly, while exploring my body with his right hand. I love it when he touches me. I feel excited and at peace at the same time. I feel loved, cherished, worshiped… he makes me feel like I am the only person in the universe and that he only breathes for me. I know I feel like this about him. The more time I spend with him the more I know this to be true. I live and breathe for him.

"We should go to sleep, we have a lot of work tomorrow" I say.

"You are right. We should put some clothes on, though" he says and I realize we are both practically naked in each other's arms. We laugh and get up to put our PJ's on. We climb into bed and snuggle close to each other.

"Good night, my dear caveman" I say. Tobias laughs.

"Good night, my dear cavewoman" he replies. We both laugh and the kiss each other good night. I rest my head on his chest, letting the steady beat of his heart lull me to sleep.

Thankfully tonight I sleep through. No more midnight escapades into the factionless sector or passionate mornings with Tobias. The latter I wouldn't mind actually.

I blink a couple of times before I can keep my eyes open. I look for Tobias but he's nowhere to be seen. I touch his side of the bed and it's cold. Then the smell of fresh made coffee hits my nostrils and I know where my loving boyfriend is. I get out of bed and walk barefoot into the kitchenette where Tobias is currently making some scrambled eggs with bacon. I snake my hands around his middle and let him know that I'm up.

"Morning handsome" I say.

"Morning beautiful" he replies.

"I gather we eat here" I say.

"Yep. You mind setting the table?"

"Not at all." I take two plates from one of the cupboards and forks and knives from the drawer under the table. I set everything on the table and pour two mugs of coffee. By the time I set the mugs down, one in front of each plate, Tobias finishes cooking and puts some of the eggs on my plate and the rest on his. He does the same with the bacon. He turns around to the counter and grabs the toast he made earlier and puts in on the table between us. We eat our breakfast in relative silence. I send Tobias to brush his teeth and get ready, while I clean up in the kitchenette. When I'm done I brush my teeth and put some comfortable clothes on. We walk to the new apartment and are greeted by our friends who all came to help us.

"You are early" I say.

"We finished up early with breakfast and we decided to come up here" Zeke says.

"Yeah, we figured you guys would come here first" Christina adds.

"Also we want a tour of the apartment" Uriah says.

"Alright. Then let's take a look" Tobias says smiling. He takes his key out and opens the door.


	13. Chapter 13

13

They all walk into our new apartment and have their mouths hanging open. I imagine Tobias and I looked just like them when we first saw it. Within minutes they run around like quicksilver exploring every part of it.

"It's huge" Marlene says.

"And I love the balcony" Shauna says.

"The bathroom upstairs is awesome" Zeke says. "I wish I had one like that."

"Why do you need four bedrooms?" Uriah asks.

"Kids!" the girls say in unison and I blush.

"Oh come on. Don't be such girls. They are too young for that" Uriah says to them.

"We are girls, you Dauntless-cake-eating moron" Lynn says to him.

"Hey, no name calling" Shauna scolds her younger sister.

"It's not name calling if it's the truth" Lynn defends.

"Besides no one said that they would have them right away" Marlene says.

"Imagine a little Four and a little Tris running around Dauntless. I'm sure they would be the cutest kids around here" Christina says and I blush even deeper. I look toward Tobias and he is a little embarrassed as well.

"It's a great apartment" Will says coming down the stairs.

"So, we still have time before the movers bring the furniture. What shall we do?" Zeke asks.

"I'm going to pick up Tris's mom. She wanted to help us" Tobias says. We kiss goodbye and he leaves.

"I didn't know your mom would come" Shauna says.

"Me neither. I met with her yesterday and it kinda happened" I explain.

"Won't she feel uncomfortable here with us?" Marlene asks.

"No. You see my mom is Dauntless-born and transferred to Abnegation" I tell them.

"Get out" Uriah shouts.

"No, really" I say.

"Well this explains you then" Lynn says. "And here we thought you were just a Stiff" she adds jokingly and we all start laughing.

"Wanna know something funnier?" I ask and they nod their heads still laughing.

"My dad is Erudite-born."

At that everyone stops laughing and they all stare at me.

"Really?" Will asks. "I didn't know that."

"Until very recently me neither. My mom told me. They both chose Abnegation and practically detached themselves from their old lives. This is actually something I want to change. I already thought about it. For those of you who were there at my interrogation at Candor this is no news. I truly believe that we can improve our lives, everyone's in the city, if we work together. But to be able to work together we need to know each other and to get to know each other we need to be allowed to talk to other people from other factions without being sanctioned for it. How many of you believed or maybe still believe that Abnegation have secret warehouses where they store food and goods? Come on, answer honestly. I swear no hard feelings or judgment" I say.

Almost everyone, except for Zeke and to my surprise Will, raise their hands.

"Will, why didn't you believe that?" I ask him.

"Because, believe it or not, my grandmother transferred from Abnegation to Erudite. Whenever someone would say something about Abnegation she defended her old faction. She always told me never to judge a book by its cover. To investigate and then pass judgment. She also told me about her youth in Abnegation and how she volunteered to feed the factionless. She repeated over and over again that these allegations are untrue and heinous."

"Okay. I didn't know that about you. Thank you for sharing" I say. "You Zeke?"

"I don't have relatives but I know from a safe source that the story about secret warehouses and other crap like that is bull" he says. I know he means Tobias.

"Anyway, I want to change that. I want to persuade the council to allow us interact more with other factions, without disbanding the faction system. I am pro factions but it's time for us to grow. For instance, I grew up thinking that Dauntless were adrenaline junkies and not really the brightest. Why? Because I wasn't allowed to make friends. Well, not really. And on the other hand who would have been friends with me? I mean I was a Stiff" I say and they smile, but nod in agreement. "And because of those Erudite articles attacking Abnegation I started to hate them, when most of them were innocent. And just think of how people see the Amity people – like nut jobs. I mean, what the hell is wrong with them? Why are they always so damn happy? Or Candor – they would tell you that you look like shit in the middle of something important, like I don't know a book report. My point is if we would be allowed to get to know each other better I really think we wouldn't have so many problems between factions. We all need each other after all."

"I agree, Tris" Will says. "For too many years I've heard Erudite talk ill about Abnegation and they absolutely disregarded Dauntless. Amity is a joke to them. Well not all of them. But I know what you mean. If we would truly know each other we wouldn't live with these misconceptions about people in other factions." The others nod in agreement. I knew I wasn't the only one who saw that. "Whatever you need to make this happen you can count on me" Will says to me.

"Thank you, Will, I really appreciate it."

"You can count on me too" Christina says.

"And me" Zeke says and gets an elbow to the ribs from Shauna. "I mean us."

"Us too" Lynn, Marlene and Uriah say at the same time.

"Are we interrupting some special bonding moment" Tobias asks from the doorway.

"You are back" I say surprised. I look at my watch and see that he was gone for twenty minutes. I can't believe it. We were so engrossed in our talk that time practically flew by. "Hey mom" I say and go to hug her.

"Hello Beatrice" my mom says while hugging me back.

"Guys, this is my mom, Natalie Prior" I proudly say.

"Hello everyone" she says.

"Mom these are my friends – Zeke, his girlfriend Shauna" I motion at the two with my hand and they say hello. "Lynn, Shauna's sister" I point at her and she says hi "Marlene and Uriah" they say hello "Will" he politely says good morning "and my best friend, Christina" I point at her and she says hello.

"It is so nice to make your acquaintance" my mom says.

Some of them say "Likewise" others only nod.

"Beatrice, is it possible that you give me a quick tour before the furniture arrives?" she asks and I take her hand and show her around. First we go upstairs and I show her the master bedroom with the attached bathroom and private balcony, afterwards I show her the bathroom on the second floor, I show her the three extra bedrooms and then we head downstairs. I show her the small bathroom, the storage room under the stairs, the extra large living area that will include living room, kitchen and dining area and then I finally show her my favorite part – the extra large balcony.

"It's beautiful, Beatrice" she says amazed.

"Yeah, it is" I say.

"I wish you and Four to be very happy here" she says emotion thick in her voice.

"Thank you, mom" I say hugging her.

Just then Shauna comes outside and tells me the movers brought the furniture. I get inside followed by my mom and friend and we start unpacking. Tobias arranged with the movers to help us and they go upstairs with Tobias and Zeke to set up the bedroom, while the rest of us stay downstairs and unpack the rest.

By the time the home store delivers our purchases we are far from finished and we decide to take a break and get to the cafeteria to eat something. Tobias tips the movers generously and we all head downstairs.

We enter the cafeteria and see that most Dauntless are already gathered here. They look at my mom clearly seeing that she doesn't belong here, at least not anymore, but I ignore it and we all sit down at our regular table. We eat and talk and tell jokes and just have a good time together. After we finished we all head back upstairs and continue working until very late in the afternoon. But it was all worth it. Mom, Shauna and me vacuum, dust and wipe the floors, while Marlene, Lynn and Christina put the dishes, tableware, pots and pans and all the kitchen utensils away. Uriah and Will finish setting up the home cinema set Tobias bought in the electronics store, after they finished with the stereo. After we finish everyone takes a tour of the house to see it now with the new furniture. I write down things that we still need to buy while walking around. I'm so happy our friends offered to help us. We wouldn't have made it today if it wouldn't have been for them. We thank them several times before they say goodbye and leave to get some supper.

Tobias asks me if I want to come with him when he takes my mom home, but I'm so tired I decline. I say goodbye to my mom and kiss her cheek. She hugs me and says she can't wait to come back. I tell her that next time she will be my guest and I will cook for her.

After Tobias leaves I walk to his old apartment and pack my clothes in a rucksack. I take as many things as I can, including two bags of groceries to stock the new refrigerator. I manage to get back to the new apartment just when Tobias appears in the hallway and takes the bags off of me. I unlock the door and we enter.

"Did you go shopping?" he asks.

"No. I went to the apartment, the old one, and got my clothes and the food. I was hoping to make a second trip before you came back, but you beat me to that. You mind if I pack your things and bring them here?" I ask not sure if he would mind me going through his things.

"I do actually" he says and I feel a little hurt that he doesn't trust me. "I'm not gonna let you carry heavy things all by yourself. I'm coming with you" he says and I feel a burden lift of my shoulders. I'm such an idiot for even thinking that.

"Tobias, you are tired. I can do this" I say.

"No way. And so are you. You have worked all day long, I've seen you. You were like a hard-working bee today" he says with a chuckle.

"Still, you and the guys did most of the heavy lifting" I say.

"I don't care. I'm not gonna let you do this alone" he says firmly, telling me there's no room to argue. I hang my head in defeat and say "alright".

We walk back to his old place hand in hand and pack the rest of his stuff. Surprisingly it's not that much. The furniture he owns is left behind. We can pick it up some other time if he wants it. We get back home in no time and I sit down on one of the island stools and sigh loudly. That was a really exhausting day.

"You want something to eat?" Tobias asks me.

"Not really" I say. "Do you? I can make you something."

"No. Do we have muffins?"

"Yeah, the cupboard right behind you." He takes the bag out and we both eat two muffins each and drink a glass of cold milk. We clean up and go upstairs.

I'm so incredibly tired I think I'm falling asleep as I walk. I can barely keep my eyes open but when I enter our bedroom and see the platform bed just in the middle and the wardrobe just in front of it, the dresser on the wall next to the door and the vanity on the opposite side next to the window I wake up momentarily seeing the assembly for the first time put together. I meant to come upstairs to see how it looks but I never got the chance. I enter shyly like it's not my own home. I take in every little detail of this room. My room. No, mine and Tobias's room. I gently touch the dresser as if it might fall apart if I apply to much pressure. I walk to the bed and touch the silky dark gray sheets. I walk along it still wondering how on earth the men managed to get this huge bed through that small door. I walk to the vanity, still empty but it soon will hold my things, and sit down on the bench. I look out the window and see the sunset. It's beautiful. From behind me Tobias asks me if I like it. Like is not even enough to describe how I feel about this room, this apartment. In one word I would describe it as home.

I stand up and turn around, tears streaming down my face. Tobias rushes to me and cups my face with his hands and wipes the tears with his thumbs away. "I'm home" I say smiling. He smiles too and we kiss. It starts out innocently, but soon becomes more hungry and demanding. We pull apart only when air becomes an issue and look deep into each other's eyes.

"I love you, Beatrice" he says to me.

"I love you too, Tobias." He gives me a small kiss on the lips before pulling me into a tight embrace. We stay like this for a while before fatigue takes over again. I decide to take a quick shower and Tobias let's me go first. I'm in and out in five minutes and then allow Tobias to take one himself. Just like me he takes a quick shower and comes out ready for bed. We both lie down still unfamiliar with the bed, but hold each other close and fall into a peaceful sleep.

I wake up early in the morning and turn around to look at Tobias. He's still fast asleep and I manage to get out of bed without waking him up. I go downstairs and fix myself a bowl of cereal and eat it while playing with my new phone. After I finish my breakfast I wash my bowl and my spoon and go upstairs to brush my teeth and wash my face. I enter our bedroom carefully to not wake up Tobias and grab some clothes. I close the bathroom door behind me and get ready for the day. When I get out of bed I find Tobias sitting up on the bed rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning, honey" I say and walk to his side. I sit down on the bed and kiss his lips. "Did you sleep well?" I ask.

"Wonderful" he answers smiling. "And good morning to you, sweetheart."

"What would you like for breakfast?"

"Pancakes?"

"You got it" I say. I want to get up but he pulls me back and kisses me again.

"After I get my good morning kiss" he says and I have to laugh. We kiss for a long while before his stomach growls loudly and we break apart laughing. "Now I want pancakes."

While I'm preparing his breakfast in the kitchen he gets ready and comes downstairs. He opens the balcony door to let some fresh air in.

"It's amazing" he says looking outside.

"Yeah, it is" I say from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready."

He comes to the kitchen island and sits down on one of the stools. I put a full plate of pancakes with caramel syrup and whipped cream in front of him, as well as a bowl of fruit salad and a mug of coffee.

"Where's yours?" he asks confused when he sees only his breakfast.

"I already ate" I say. "Go on, dig in. I know you are starving." While he eats his breakfast a little too quickly I leisurely drink from my mug, savoring the full aroma of the coffee.

"What are we going to do today?" he asks after he finishes his coffee.

"Do we need to do something?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "We did something all week. Can't we just stay home for once and do nothing?"

"Oh, come on, sweetheart. It's such a nice day" he says grinning. He's up to something. I know it.

"Tobias, I wanna stay home" I whine.

"Let's go on a date" he says.

"What?"

"Well, we never got a chance to do normal couple stuff" he says.

"Honey, we are anything but normal" I say and we both laugh. "But alright. What did you have in mind?"

"Let's go to the Navy Pier" he says.

"Want to climb the Ferris Wheel again?" I ask amused.

"No" he says firmly. "But it's part of our history and I always wanted to go back there with you as my girlfriend" he says.

"Alright. Let's go. How about we pack a picnic basket?" I ask.

"That'll be great. We can go to the grocery store and buy everything we need."

We finish cleaning up together and take an old blanket, then we go to the grocery store. We buy a basket, some sandwiches, two bottles of water, some strawberries a two slices of Dauntless cake. I pay for everything, even though Tobias insisted he should, but I tell him that he bought way to much already and it's my turn now. After all we are together now. There's no mine or yours anymore. He agrees in the end and we walk out of the store. Tobias insisted we should take the SUV again and I agree. I really don't want to jump on and off trains with a basket full of food.

The ride to the pier is shorter than I would have expected. Tobias parks the car, I grab the basket and we walk hand in hand through the site. We both decide to have our picnic under the Ferris Wheel, since it's sort of our place. This is the place where we really talked to each other far away from anyone else. He lays down the blanket and I put the basket down. It's still early for lunch so we lay back and watch the sky. We talk about little things what we want to do as leaders, what we like or dislike and for the first time we have an ordinary girlfriend-boyfriend moment. But then Tobias's mood changes. I know there's something on his mind. I honestly don't know if I should probe or just wait for him to say something. Before I can make up my mind he starts talking.

"There is something I haven't told anyone" he says. "It's difficult to talk about it. Promise me to let me finish before you say something." I nod my head in agreement. "After I finished initiation I got a note. It said On the day you hated most, at the time when she died, in the place where you first jumped on. At first I thought it was a joke, but who would know me well enough to write such a cryptic note? No one. At least not in Dauntless. The only person that came to mind was Marcus. But why be so cryptic about it? I soon realized that it couldn't be him. I started analyzing the note line by line. At the time she died – there's only one she – my mother" I nod. I remember going to her funeral, although I can't seem to remember Tobias. "The place where I first jumped on – that's the train platform where I first jumped the train after my choosing ceremony. It took me a while to figure out this part – on the day you hated most. I didn't know what kind of a day. A birthday, holiday, a day of the week and then I realized. Wednesday. Every Wednesday the council met to discuss current problems. Every time Marcus came back he was pissed and usually took it out on my mom and later just me. So it was easy from there – Wednesday at two a.m. at the train platform near the Hub. When I got there I thought of all kinds of things – that it's still a joke or a trap. The only thing I haven't expected was to see her" he says and looks deep into my eyes. Her? Who is she? Tobias must see that I'm trying to figure out who he meant because he takes my right hand in his and smiles a sad smile. "My mother."

What?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The note is from Four - A Divergent Collection. I thought it would go perfectly with the story.
> 
> What do you think of Tobias's revelation?
> 
> What will Tris do?


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Explicit content in this chapter.

14

"Your mother?" I ask astonished. "But she's dead. I went to her funeral" I say disbelievingly. "How?"

"She didn't die. She left. She couldn't take Marcus's abuse anymore and she left" he says a little angry.

We stay quiet for a long while. I don't know what to say or if I should say anything. Tobias's mother is alive. She never died. She left her abusive husband and let everyone believe that she died. She left Tobias. She left Tobias with that monster. She abandoned him. I hate her for that.

My mind races a million miles per hour. I feel so many things that I can't even begin to categorize them. If this is how I feel I don't think I want to know how Tobias felt when he found out. Or how he is still feeling. I need to say something. He told me this because he trusts me and because we both agreed no more secrets. But what could I possibly say? I'm glad your mom's alive. What a bitch for leaving you. I honestly don't know.

"Tobias, I have no idea what to say" I finally say.

"I know. I don't know what to say and it has been two years since I've found out."

"Do you talk to her? I mean, I don't know, do you get together and spend some mother-son time?" I ask not really believing it.

"We met a few times" he says ambiguously.

"May I be blunt" I ask.

"Sure."

"What kind of mother abandons her only son with an abusive man?" I ask, anger clear in my voice.

"That's what I've asked myself ever since I've found out she is alive."

"Did you ask her?"

"She said she didn't think he would be violent with me, but I don't know. I was always afraid of him. And he started beating me even before she left" he tells me.

I wrap my arms around him and rub a hand up and down his back. At first he remains motionless, but then he holds on to me and starts silently crying. I don't say anything. I let him cry. Who knows if he ever did this. Sometimes it's better to let it all out even if it shows weakness. When his tears dry off and he starts sobbing I cup his face in my hands and kiss him tenderly.

"I love you, baby" I say.

"I love you too" he replies.

"Thank you for sharing this with me. Whenever you feel the need to talk about this, please know that you can always count on me."

"I know. Thank you."

"I think we should eat" I say trying to lighten the mood. He smiles and agrees. I take out the sandwiches and the water bottles and we both eat in silence. After we are done we eat our Dauntless cake and resume our lying position watching the clouds pass above us.

When the silence becomes unbearable I decide to say something.

"I hate her." It's not the best thing I've ever said.

"What?" he asks surprised.

"Your mom. She left you with that monster. I know you told me she was abused, but so were you and no matter what, a mother never abandons her child. Or she shouldn't. I know I'm selfish for thinking like this, but I don't care. I could never abandon you and if God almighty grants me to be a mother someday I would rather die than leave my child" I sternly say still looking up into the sky.

I feel Tobias shift beside me and suddenly kissing me hungrily. We kiss for what seems like forever and when we finally part we are both breathless. It takes us a few minutes to breathe normal again.

"I love you so much, Beatrice. Thank you for saying that" he says, emotion thick in his voice.

"I meant every word, Tobias. I don't know what kind of relationship you have with your mother, but I for one will never ever forgive her for what she has done to you. I hope you don't resent me for that, this is how I feel."

"I could never resent you. I'm happy we are in a place where we can be completely honest with each other. I rather be pissed at you five minutes and then realize that you are right or not, than have you lie to me. This is life, sometimes we will agree with each other, other times we won't. But I want us to always be honest."

"Me too."

"As for my mother we have a very tensed relationship. I don't even think we could call it a relationship. I cannot even call her mom anymore. It's just Evelyn."

"Where is she anyways?" I ask, aware that I have no clue.

"She lives factionless. After leaving, pretending to be dead, she couldn't go back to Abnegation or anywhere else for that matter. She's been living factionless for the past nine years."

"Do you want to have a relationship with her?"

"I don't know, honey. I wish I could go back to the one we had before she left, but I know it's impossible. Things have changed. We have changed. But I would lie not only to you but also to myself if I would say I don't wish I could call her mom again" he says sad.

"You know what I think of her" he nods "but if you want to restore your relationship and you think that you can find it in you to forgive her you should at least try. Not for her, but for you. But if you don't want that, it's okay too. Whatever you decide I'm completely on board with it. I promise."

"Thank you, I knew I could count on you. This was really difficult for me. I told you I haven't told anyone about my mom. I've been keeping this secret for two years now."

I hug him and then kiss his cheek. He pulls me close to him and I sit in his lap hugging him tightly. After a while he whispers in my ear.

"She wanted me to leave Dauntless and come live with her." This surprises me and I break the embrace.

"What? Why?"

"Several reasons. For one she said that I didn't belong there, which isn't entirely untrue. And on the other hand she said she wanted to spend more time with me."

"Aha" I say a little sarcastically. "Forgive me, but that's a little bit on the stink side, don't you think. You might have chosen Dauntless to get away from your dad, but you belong there. I could ask random people in Dauntless and they would all tell me that you belong there. For God sake's, Tobias, they made you their leader. You belong there."

"Calm down, Tris" he says kissing my cheek. "She asked me two years ago to do that and to be honest I actually considered it. I told you that before I met you I wanted to leave Dauntless and live factionless, but after you fell into that net and into my life I couldn't. I just couldn't. I think I fell in love with you the moment I saw you" he says smiling brightly and it melts my heart.

"But you don't want to leave? Not anymore?" I ask insecure.

"No. Never. I could never leave Dauntless now. I will never leave you."

"And I will never leave you."

He leans in and kisses me passionately and I feel the now familiar butterflies in my tummy. If we keep this up we might make love for the first time right here, right now. No, we should stop. This is not the place. I don't want to make love to the man I love for the first time on a picnic blanket under a Ferris Wheel. Especially like this out in the open. I break our kiss and Tobias looks confused.

"We are getting carried away" I say and he nods. We decide to go back home since it's already past four in the afternoon. We pack our things and head back hand in hand to the car. We drive back to Dauntless chit-chatting about the littlest things. Before we reach the compound Tobias turns to look at me and smiles.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing" he says still smiling.

"What?"

"Have I told you that you look beautiful today?"

"No."

"Well, you do."

"Thank you" I say with a slight blush spreading across my face.

"Let's go dancing" he says.

"What?"

"Dancing. I bet you never danced before" he says grinning.

"Abnegation, remember" I ask raising an eyebrow and he laughs. We weren't allowed such selfish things like music or God forbid dancing. Or worse have some actual fun.

"Well, then it's about time you learn how to dance and have some Dauntless fun" he says.

"Can you dance?" I ask skeptical.

"Nope. But I can learn. And what better way than with my girlfriend."

"Alright, mister. It's on. I need to go shopping though."

"Why?" he asks confused.

"Cause I've got nothing to wear" I say.

"You can wear your PJ's and you would still be the most beautiful girl here in Dauntless" he says and I blush at the compliment.

"I'd rather wear a dress, thank you very much."

"Alright. Let's go buy you a dress" he says smiling.

"Nah-ah. You are not coming. I'm going alone. Actually, I'm going to ask Christina to come with me shopping. I haven't spent much time with her lately. You will see the dress tonight when we go out."

"Okay."

We walk together for a while until Tobias takes a right turn going toward our apartment, while I go over to Christina's. I hope she's home. I don't have to walk far and I see her in the hallway with Will.

"Hey guys" I say as I approach them.

"Hey Tris" Christina says.

"Hello Tris" Will says.

"Chris, I need your help. Could you come with me" I say without revealing that I have a date later with my boyfriend.

"Sure" she says before kissing Will goodbye. After we are out of earshot she asks curious "What's up?"

"I'm going on a date with Four later and I need a dress. And you are the only one I can trust to pick something out." At the mention of going shopping her eyes light up.

"Wow, to hear you say that is just… wow. Come on, I'll make you the sexiest thing that ever walked this halls."

"Chris, I just need a nice dress" I say exasperatedly.

"Listen to me. You are a leader now, not just some random Dauntless girl. Also you wanna look sexy for Four, don't you?" she asks and I nod shyly. "Yeah, you do. You are beautiful on your own, but sometimes you need to point out certain things" she says with a smirk. Oh, I'm going to regret this.

Christina drags from one store to the other. Apparently when you go dress shopping you also need shoes, accessories, make-up and lingerie. She first drags me into the lingerie shop where she looks over several items before she decides on something that will absolutely set Four on fire, her words. It's a black tulle and lace bustier, with see-through parts here and there, a lace-up back and a thin black band in the middle with rhinestones in the front. Christina makes me try it on, including the thong that goes with it. I take the items and go into a cabin. I'm too embarrassed to come out, so I call her inside to see if everything fits. Her wide grin tells me she likes it and I have to say even though it's the most daring thing I've ever seen I can't help but get excited thinking of how Tobias might react. I change quickly and pay for my purchase. We leave the store and go looking for a dress. We enter several clothing stores before we find the perfect dress for me – a chiffon strapless A-line knee length black cocktail dress with a band just underneath the chest with a bow above the left hip. Our next stop is the shoe store. Christina makes me try on several pairs before she gives her okay. The winner in the category footwear, drum roll please, a beautiful pair of black embellished strap three inches heeled sandals. We decide to not buy any jewelry. Sometimes less is more, as Christina put it, although I think she had something else in mind.

I thank Christina for her help and rush back home. I unlock the door and look to see if Tobias is around. I walk towards the stairs and see him on the balcony talking on the phone. It seems he hasn't noticed me. I walk upstairs to put my purchases away and rush back down stairs and out on the balcony.

"Hey, your home" he says surprised.

"Yeah, I just got back and you were on the phone. I didn't want to disturb you" I say and hug him.

"You never disturb me" he says placing a soft kiss on my lips. When we part he smiles at me at first but then his expression changes to a serious one.

"What is it?" I ask concerned.

"Jack called" he says. "They are going to read the sentences of the conspirators tomorrow. They are going to be executed" he says in a grave voice.

"Oh God" I say. I've expected it, but to actually know it for a fact is quite different. They did terrible things and would have done even more if we wouldn't have stopped them. Nevertheless, I don't wish this fate on anyone, no matter how evil they are.

"The executions will take place probably on Wednesday. They want to give the families of the conspirators enough time to say goodbye" he explains further. He hugs me tight and rubs my back soothingly.

"Do we need to go to Candor tomorrow, for the sentencing?" I ask.

"It's not mandatory. We can if you want to."

"I don't. I don't wish anyone to die, but they deserve it. There's one thing that Jeanine is a psycho, but every Dauntless involved, Erudite spy or not, betrayed our faction in the most cruel and selfish way. They deserve punishment."

"I agree. But let's stop talking about sad things. We have a date" he says trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah. Let's focus on that." We kiss and then I pull away from him slightly. "Let's eat at home and just go dancing. Is that okay?"

"Whatever you want."

"Okay, how about I make us some fries and chicken wings. It's not much but it won't take too long either."

"It's perfect. Let me help you" he says, but I shake my head no.

"You go take a shower and get ready and afterwards I'll go." He reluctantly agrees and I get started on our supper.

After about twenty minutes Tobias comes back into the kitchen dressed in some black jeans, a black button down shirt and of course black shoes. We eat and casually talk about the nightclub, where I never went before and some other places I didn't even know existed. Tobias tells me there's a fully equipped spa and a indoor pool. I can't wait to try them out. I make Tobias promise me to go sometime and he happily does so. I think I'm going to the spa with Christina. Actually we can invite Marlene, Lynn and Shauna to join us. I never had girlfriends before and even if I had we wouldn't have been allowed to do such selfish things like enjoying a spa day or just hanging at the pool. I can't wait to tell Chris.

I go upstairs to take a shower and get ready, while Tobias cleans up in the kitchen. It takes me almost half an hour to get ready. I put on my sexy lingerie, my new dress and sandals, I apply some light make up just like Christina showed me and I decide to pull my hair into a high ponytail. I look myself up and down in the tall mirror in our bathroom and see that shy Beatrice transformed into confident and sexy Tris. When I'm satisfied with my appearance I walk downstairs. Tobias is on the balcony again. He loves it just as much as I do. I try not to make any noise and manage to hug him from behind. He lifts my left hand to his lips and kisses the back of it before he turns around. When he sees me he looks surprised. He looks me up and down with his mouth open and I can tell I made an impression.

"Tris, you look…hot" he says still looking me up and down. "Wow. I always think you're beautiful but damn. I can't take you out looking like this" he says.

"Why not?" I ask a little offended.

"I'm strong, but not enough to fight of all the Dauntless that will try to hit on you. Geez, you look hot."

"Oh, stop it Tobias" I say slightly amused.

"I mean it. How did I ever get so lucky?" he asks before he pulls me into his arms and kissing me thoroughly.

"I'm the lucky one" I say breathless.

"Let's agree we are both lucky to have each other" he says smiling brightly.

"Agreed. Let's go."

We walk down to the nightclub hand in hand and there are more than one pair of eyes looking me over. I blush every time someone's eyes linger longer than necessary and Tobias puts his arm around my shoulder glaring at every male that passes us. I don't know how to feel about any of this. Luckily, we soon get to the nightclub and to my surprise our friends are all here. Damn. I wanted some alone time with Tobias.

"Hey Four, man. I don't think Tris would appreciate it that you brought this hot chick to the club" Zeke says smirking. Tobias glares at him.

"Hey Zeke" I say.

"Hey Tris. You look smoking hot, girl" he says.

"Thank you" I say blushing crimson.

"Hey Tris, you look gorgeous" Shauna says to me.

"Thank you. You look great too. I love your dress" I say.

"Thank you."

We greet all our friends and all seem to enjoy making me blush, because every single one of them tells me I'm hot or sexy or any other synonym they can come up with. Tobias drags me away from our group to the dance floor and we start dancing. Or at least we try. We have absolutely no clue what to do. When a ballad plays Tobias pulls me close into his arms and whispers how much he loves me, kissing my neck every now and then sending bolts of electricity through my body.

"I told you I can't take you out looking like this. You look way to hot. There should be a law against it."

"Stop it, Tobias" I say smacking his shoulder lightly.

"Since we got here I counted seven different guys that practically undressed you with their eyes" he says and I blush, although I doubt he can see that. It's so dark in here I wonder how people don't trip over each other.

"You are the only one who can do that with his hands" I boldly say. He looks down into my eyes and I can see lust and desire sparkle in his.

"Wanna get out of here?" he asks in a husky voice. I nod once and he practically drags me out of there. We don't even say goodbye to our friends and rush back home.

We are back inside our apartment in no time. Before I know it Tobias sweeps me off my feet and carries me upstairs into our bedroom. He puts me back down on my feet in front of our bed. We look into each other's eyes for a long while. Tobias cups my face with his right hand while his left rests on the small of my back. He closes the distance between us and kisses me softly at first, but the kiss becomes more passionate and hungry with each passing second. When air becomes an issue he travels down my neck to my collarbone, he kisses each of my ravens, sucks on the soft flesh, bites and licks his way down to my breast. His hands cup both my breasts and knead them. I moan loudly and he seems to consider this enough encouragement to unzip my dress and get rid of it. When the dress hits the floor Tobias's eyes almost pop out when he sees the sexy lingerie I'm wearing. He was upset with those guys who undressed me with their eyes earlier, but right now he is doing the exact same thing. He seems to have lost all ability to talk, let alone move, so I boldly take over.

I grab his hand and turn him toward the bed and give him a little push. He sits down and I straddle his lap feeling his excitement pushing upwards. That must be really painful. I should get rid of his clothes. All of them. I start kissing his lips, then his cheeks, his nose, his jaw. I return to his lips, licking the full bottom lip and he opens his mouth for me. I shove my tongue inside and mate with his. The more we kiss the higher my body temperature rises. I leave his mouth and suck and bite along his neck, then along his collarbone while my hands get rid of his shirt. When I finally undress him of it I let my hands roam over his defined chest and arms. I trail open-mouthed kisses on my way south paying extra attention to his nipples that I suck gently. When I hear him moan my name I bite one hardened bud and pinch the other one. I push him backwards on the bed and continue my exploratory travel of his body. I reach his navel and lick around it before pushing my tongue inside eliciting a louder moan from him. When I finally reach the hem of his pants I get suddenly nervous. I breathe in a few times before helping him get rid of them. I pull them down but realize I can't pull them off before he doesn't take his shoes of first. I do it for him, tossing them aside, followed momentarily by his pants. I can see the engorged bulge still hidden by his boxer briefs and decide to go all the way. I want this. I wanted this for a while. I love him and he loves me. And he will make sure to make this as special as he can for me. Might as well enjoy myself. I grab his briefs by the hem and slowly slide them down his muscular legs. When they are finally off I take a look at his majestic member. I almost forgot how big he is. What if he doesn't fit? Doubts start to bubble up again and I take deep breaths again. Tobias seems to notice my hesitation because he props himself up on his elbows and looks at me.

"We don't have to" he says, although I can tell he wants to. He really, really wants to. And I want it to. It's just I'm a little scared.

"I want to. I'm just a little nervous" I say.

He gets off the bed and pulls me up into his arms rubbing my back and kissing my head. I can feel his member pulsating between us and I know it's now or never. I can chicken out. Especially since I really want this. I'm doing it for him. Well not just for him. Damn it, Tris. Be brave, for God's sake. This gorgeous man was willing to take a bullet for you.

"Tris, we can wait, sweetheart. There's no rush" he says softly. I only nod. "Do you want to lie down?" I nod again. I take of my shoes and we both get into bed. I lay my head on his chest listening to his heart beat. It's erratic, which is understandable. He traces his fingers up and down my spine and this simple touch seems to set me on fire. I look up at him and he stares at the ceiling.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Huh? What?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Us. Everything we've been through and how it made us stronger." He looks down to me, his eyes sparkling. "I love you, Tris, more than anything in this world." He closes the distance between us and kisses me softly. When we break after a while a single tear runs down my cheek and I say "I love you too" before kissing him again. This time the kiss is more hungry and passionate and Tobias turns on his side covering me with his body, making sure not to rest his weight on me. He holds himself above me leaning on his left elbow, while with his right hand he explores my body. He starts kissing my neck, traveling to my collarbone, sucking and licking the soft flesh, kissing each of my ravens, cupping my left breast and kneading it while kissing the other one. He gently moves his hand from my breast to the zipper of my bustier, never once lifting it off my body. He unzips it and removes it, tossing it on the floor and leaving my upper body exposed to him. He returns to his previous task, kneading and sucking again. He switches breasts a couple of times before traveling further south to my navel. He kisses and licks the area around it, before pushing his tongue lightly inside eliciting a guttural moan from me, all the while letting his hand travel even further to my womanhood, rubbing it gently through the fabric of my thong. Tobias's talented mouth and tongue travel further and he grabs the hem of my thong with his teeth, pulling it off of me. He positions himself between my now outstretched legs and starts licking my entrance. He alternates sucking, licking and gently biting my clit, effectively driving me crazy and I scream out his name when I feel a wave of pleasure washing over me. I'm not done riding out my orgasm when Tobias pushes his tongue inside my womanhood several times before entering a finger. He establishes a steady in and out pace before I loudly moan "faster". He picks up the pace and I can feel another orgasm approaching. But it's not enough. I need more. "More" I manage to say between moans and heavy panting. He obliges and adds another finger keeping the rapid pace he established. I soon come again and I feel like dying. This is so wonderful. I can't imagine anything being better than this. I can't imagine how actual sex can top this. I don't get the chance to think about it, because when I open my eyes I find myself looking into his dark blue ones, silently asking me if I'm ready. God, I'm so ready. I nod my head and he bends down to feverishly kiss me. I can feel him between my legs and I'm nervous again. This is it.

Tobias breaks our kiss and positions himself at my entrance. He gently pushes inside me one inch at a time. I feel how he is stretching me, but I can handle it. He pushes again and I can feel him hit my barrier. The next push will hurt. I know that much. Tobias looks my lovingly in the eyes and I know I can trust him forever. He pushes again and I feel a sharp pain. I close my eyes trying to get accustomed to the pain and the sensation of being filled. I feel Tobias retracting and I grab his arm. I open my eyes and he looks at me apologetically.

"It's okay, baby, I knew it was coming" I say "just give me a moment." When I feel I can handle the pain I wrap my legs around Tobias's waist and push his buttocks slightly, indicating that I'm ready. He starts a slow in and out pace, allowing me to get fully accustomed to him, but when I no longer feel any pain I tell him to go faster. The louder I moan the more confident he gets. He increases the pace more and more and I can feel another orgasm approaching me quickly. "Faster" I command and he obliges. "Harder, deeper" I manage to say between moans.

"You feel so good, Tris" he says breathlessly pounding harder and deeper than before.

"Oh God, Tobias, I'm coming" I scream out loud.

"I'm coming too" he growls.

And like never before I feel the wave hit me so hard I think I'll pass out. I throw my head backwards and I'm fairly certain I stopped breathing for a few seconds, because of the intensity of my release. I feel Tobias speed up even more, if that's even possible and then him getting bigger before releasing himself deep inside of me. He cries out my name and collapses on top of me, but for some reason I don't even feel the weight. On the contrary, I welcome his weight on me. I wrap myself around him even more, not wanting to ever let go of this man. God, I love him so much.

After we are able to speak again Tobias props himself up, lifting some of the weight off of me, looking deep into my eyes and smiles.

"I love you so much, sweetheart" he says lovingly.

"I love you too, honey. That was amazing" I say honestly.

"I'm so sorry for hurting you" he says, hurt clear in his voice.

"Don't be" I say cupping his face in my hands. "It was necessary and it lasted only a moment. You didn't hurt me. You made me a woman, your woman and I'm happy. So don't be sorry" I say.

"And you made me your man" he says smiling down on me. We start kissing again, only this time it's sweet and loving, not at all passionate. He slips out of me and we both sigh in disappointment at the loss of this intimate connection. Tobias gathers me in his arms and kisses my head while rubbing my back.

"Thank you" I say "for making this so special."

"No, thank you for allowing me to love you the way you deserve. I promise you I will do everything in my power to make you the happiest woman in the world" he vows.

"I already am. I have you and that's all I ever need" I say and kiss his lips.

We stay silent for a while, I don't want to sleep, I want to repeat what we just did, but soon fatigue gains the upper hand and I fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I originally planned on making them wait a while, but then I was like ... meh... let's write some smut :p
> 
>  
> 
> 1\. Lingerie set for Tris's first date
> 
> sleepwear/lingerie/tulle-lace-bustier-the-victorias-secret-designer-collection?ProductID=213023&CatalogueType=OLS
> 
> 2\. Chiffon strapless black cocktail dress
> 
> .
> 
> 3\. Black embellished strap three inches heeled sandals
> 
> . ?iid=4728996&cid=4172&Rf989=5029&Rf-200=4&Rf929=2312&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=36&sort=-1&clr=Black&totalstyles=25&gridsize=3


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey everyone. I decided to update every other day for a while, since I'm not that far ahead. I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

15

I wake up early the next morning. It's still dark outside so I assume it's around six a.m. I feel Tobias stir behind me and I smile to myself remembering the events of last night. I can't believe we did that. I thought it would hurt more but it didn't. It was just as I told him, a moment of pain, and then everything went from good to extraordinary.

I love the way his naked body is pressed impossibly close to mine, how his breath hits the skin on the back of my neck, how his member is pressed into my buttocks…hey, hang on. It's erect. Is he awake? By the steady movement of his chest he seems to be still sleeping. I remember reading something in school – apparently men get excited in the morning. I have to smile at that. I try to turn around in his arms without waking him up. He stirs a little and he almost wakes up, but I manage to turn around and I'm now only inches away from his face. I reach up and kiss him softly on the lips. He soon starts to move his lips with mine and our kiss deepens when he slips his tongue into my mouth. I moan contentedly and he pulls me even closer to him. When we finally part I open my eyes to find him looking at me, a happy smile on his face.

"Good morning, love" he says.

"Good morning, honey" I reply.

"We should do this every morning" he says grinning.

"What?" I ask a little confused.

"Waking each other with a kiss" he answers.

"Oh, right. We should."

"How are you this morning?" he asks me.

"Extremely happy" I say smiling. "You?"

"Just as happy."

"I can tell" I say and blush a little. He soon understands what I mean when I press my pelvic bone against his throbbing member.

"Well I'm really happy this morning" he says with an even wider grin. He turns around to grab his phone to check the time. "It's six a.m. We have plenty of time until we need to go to work" he says turning back to me. "What should we do to make time pass quicker?" he asks.

"There are a number of things I can think of" I say and before I know it he throws the cover off of us and covers my body with his, pushing me into the mattress.

He starts kissing my cheeks, my nose, my jaw line, he travels down my neck, licking and biting every now and then, he licks along my collarbone and sucks on my pulse point. He places open-mouthed kisses over every raven, before traveling toward my chest. He sucks on my right breast, while kneading the left one with his right hand. He swirls his tongue around my erect right nipple before gently biting the hardened bud sending a heat wave straight to my core. He repeats this process on the left breast, while kneading the right one. When he's done playing with them he continues his journey down to my navel kissing every inch toward it. He circles it with his wet tongue before pushing it inside eliciting a guttural moan from me. When he's satisfied that he had kissed every part of that area he continues to where I need him the most. He stops kissing me just right above my clit and continues trailing open-mouthed kisses on my right leg, starting with the inside of my thigh and then switches to the left leg repeating every move. He deliberately teases me and avoids my womanhood, effectively driving me crazy.

"Tobias" I whine "stop teasing me." I can feel his smug grin on the skin of my left thigh. He finally places a kiss on the sensitive bundle of nerves, licking and sucking gently on it. When he lightly bites I come undone. He lifts his head a little and grins like an idiot, being satisfied for making me come by just teasing my clit. He returns to his task licking my entrance several times before pushing his tongue inside. He repeats this motion a few times before he replaces his tongue with two fingers. I'm so wet right now I don't even feel him enter, but the moment he starts moving in and out the now familiar sensation of an approaching orgasm clouds my mind and the only thing I can do is moan loudly. He quickens the pace, thrusting deeper and harder at the same time, while swirling his tongue around my sensitive clit. I grab the sheets into fists, arch my back and push myself closer to his mouth when a powerful wave of pleasure washes over me. When I start coming down from my high I feel the bed shift and Tobias is now lying on top of me, between my outstretched legs.

He looks down into my eyes and I can tell he's very proud of himself right now. He finally kisses me and I can taste myself on his tongue. I suddenly decide to take over. I push him lightly and he lies back on the bed, letting me straddle his hips. I bend down and kiss his lips, then his cheeks, I kiss the tip of his nose, his jaw line, his neck, I suck his left earlobe, I lick and bite along his neck, all the while he's leisurely roaming over my body. I kiss his hairless chest, sucking on his nipples, licking around them and biting the hardened buds. He moans loudly my name and I continue my exploration of his gorgeous god-like body. I let my hands travel over his taut abdomen making him squirm underneath my fingertips. When I push my tongue into his navel he almost throws me off of him because of the pleasure I caused. I steady myself before getting off of him completely, wanting to pay attention to his throbbing member that was asking for my attention since before he woke up. I slide down between his legs and put my right hand around his shaft, stroking him lightly. I bend down and kiss the tip of his cock before opening my mouth and taking him in. Like the first time I'm unable to take all of him in, but I suck as hard and stroke as fast as I can to make him come. He moans louder with every stroke and when he suddenly tenses and grows bigger I know that he's there. He releases his seed in my mouth and I gladly swallow all of it. I wipe the rest of my face and crawl back up to straddle him again. He opens his eyes and smiles up at me.

"That was amazing, Tris" he breathlessly says to me and I smile too. "But I hope you don't think we are done" he says and I can feel him getting bigger underneath me. I shake my head no and boldly grab his member and rub it along my entrance, eliciting moans from both of us. When his cock is wet enough I let myself glide down. I remain motionless for a little while getting accustomed to the fullness again, before establishing a steady in and out pace. When I'm comfortable with the sensation I speed up thrusting downwards hard, while he thrusts upwards meeting me halfway. When we both approach our orgasms I bend forward and Tobias holds me close to his chest while frantically thrusting upward. I feel my release nearing and meet his thrusts as best as I can and soon my walls clench around his shaft in sweet agony and I come hard, his own release seconds away. He explodes deep inside me and we both collapse on the bed breathless, but happier than ever.

We are still intimately joined when we regain our breaths and we look into each other's eyes. Tobias is the first one to speak again.

"Remember when I said you can wake me up with a kiss for the rest of our lives?" I nod. "Can I have this for breakfast?" he asks and we both laugh.

"Sure" I say and we kiss leisurely, him still buried deep inside me.

After a while he slips out and I feel suddenly empty. I didn't know I would feel like this, but I do. I must have made some noise because Tobias looks at me curious.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" he asks genuinely concerned.

"No, it's just… I feel so empty when you slip out" I confess.

"I know what you mean" he says and this time it's my time to look strangely at him. "When I'm inside you I feel I don't know like I belong there, like I'm home, not that I'm not always at home when I'm with you. It's just different. I don't know how to explain it. When we are like this, joined in the most primeval way I feel like you were made for me and me alone and I was made for you and you alone" he says.

"That's so sweet. I love you, Tobias."

"I love you too, Tris." He kisses me and we almost start all over again when his phone rings. He groans and reluctantly grabs it. "Hello?" he asks, obviously not knowing who disturbed our quality time. "Oh, Mr. Prior, good morning" he says and he sits up more rigid, while I blush crimson. I feel like my dad actually caught us making love, although I know that's absurd. Tobias gives short answers and hangs up as soon as the conversation is over. "Can I just say, wow. When I heard your dad's voice I almost felt him beat the living daylights out of me for having my way with his daughter" he says.

"First of all, you didn't have your way with me. Okay, maybe a little, but so did I" and he looks at me smirking. I shake my head and continue. "And second of all, he doesn't know what we did and he doesn't have to find out."

"No, he doesn't. He already doesn't like me, I don't need him to hate me for making love to you."

"Don't tell me you are scared of my dad" I say raising an eyebrow.

"I might. Well, not really, but I don't want him to dislike me more than he already is" he says.

"Don't worry. My mom told me that my dad actually likes you. He was very impressed by you when the two of you had your private talk at Candor. But I guess he keeps up the protective daddy mask to make sure he's right about you. Which he is. You are a wonderful, loving, honest, kind man that loves me."

"Very much" he adds.

"And I love you very much. And we can invite my parents next Saturday for lunch. This way you and my dad can get to know each other better."

He smiles at me and then kisses me thoroughly. He gets out of bed and I automatically pout which makes him laugh. He comes over to my side, picks me up and carries me into our bathroom, where he deposits me inside the shower cabin. Oh, he wants to take a shower with me. I turn on the water and take his body wash, while he takes mine. We wash each other clean, enjoying this bonding time together.

"What did my dad want" I ask while I wash my hair.

"He told me that four council members will arrive at nine a.m. and we can go over the details of the upcoming interrogations."

"Okay. At least we can get that out of the way soon. Did he say which council members?" I ask.

"No, but he said he will be one of them. He also told me that if I want they could put me under truth serum today and afterwards we can start with the rest of Dauntless."

"Alright. Are you okay? I mean they might ask you things about your past" I say and he nods.

"I would lie if I would say that I'm completely okay with it, but I owe it to my faction and the city to do this."

"Alright. If you need me you know I'm here for you, right?"

"Of course. I love you, Beatrice."

"I love you too, Tobias."

"Come on. Let's get out. We will be late otherwise" he says and turns off the water. We step outside and wrap each other in fluffy towels. We really need to buy some bathrobes. I'll put them on the list with stuff we still need.

We decide to eat in the cafeteria, since it will be our only chance to see our friends. We get dressed in typical Dauntless attire and head downstairs.

We are lucky to find our friends at our regular table and sit down next to them. We both fill our plates with scrambled eggs and bacon and Tobias pours us a cup of coffee each. After we finish eating we tell our friends about the meeting with the council members and ask each one of them to submit to be interrogated today.

"We all need to be interrogated anyway and even though you are my friends I want you to be interrogated first to show everyone that it is okay and more importantly that no one needs to fear anything if they are loyal to our faction. I will discuss with the council to ask you specific questions and not get into too many personal details" Tobias explains. "Since Tris already went under truth serum it is now my turn to do so. I would like you Zeke to go after me and then whoever wants next. I need all of your help to set an example" he says looking at all our friends. They agree to help us, even though I'm sure they are not entirely comfortable with this. I can't blame them. You are stripped of your own will during this interrogation and you have to answer truthfully, otherwise you feel like you are on fire. Not the most pleasant feeling. We thank them again and get up.

"When are we going to choose our jobs?" Will asks.

"After the interrogations" I say. "I will call our faction accountant to discuss a few financial issues with him, but I hope I can get some extra points for the initiates while they are still not working. It won't be much, but enough to live on until we can get you settled in."

"Thank you" Will says. I nod and Tobias and I leave the cafeteria. On our way to his office several Dauntless members greet us and wish us all the best. We arrive at Tobias's office when his phone rings. He answers it and we walk outside to greet the council members.

"Good morning" Tobias says politely.

"Good morning" the four council members, including my father, reply.

"Good morning gentlemen, dad" I say.

"Good morning, Tris" my dad says, remembering that here I'm known as Tris.

"Please, follow me to my office" Tobias says. We turn around and he grabs proudly my hand leading our guests to his office. He unlocks the door and lets me enter first, followed by the council members and then him. He closes the door to ensure that we won't get disturbed. I ask our guests if they would like something to drink and all of them ask for water. I get them all a glass of water each and we sit down, the three council members on the couch, my dad in the adjacent armchair and Tobias and I take the two chairs from in front of his desk and put them next to my dad.

"Before we start I would like to introduce Jonah Smith, Daniel Jacobson and Michael Prady. The three of them are my colleagues on the council and they have volunteered to help me with the interrogations of the Dauntless" my father explains. The three men bow their heads as it is customary in Abnegation. "Gentlemen, this is Four" he says pointing toward Tobias and he nods his head "and you probably remember my daughter Beatrice, although she goes now by Tris." I nod my head as well and wonder if they know who Tobias is. My dad makes a sign for Tobias to talk and he explains why he requested that the Dauntless interrogations take place as soon as possible. Since the councilmen have only a limited number of vials with truth serum they agree to interrogated only a few people today, starting with Tobias.

"I can tell by the way you look at me that you know who I am" Tobias says and they nod. I knew it. How can they not. Marcus is not only a well known Abnegation member he is also the head of the council. "I want you to call me Four. This is the name that was given to me when I came here and this is how people know me. I left that other part of me behind when I let those blood drops fall on the coal." We all know what that means and the three strangers nod their head in agreement. "We can start my interrogation whenever you like."

Jonah takes out a vial and syringe and goes to inject Tobias. I stop them and tell them I would wait outside. I know his secrets but if there's anything he hasn't told me yet I want him to decide when to share that information with me or not at all.

"Don't go, Tris. I want you here. I don't have secrets from you" he says smiling. I can't help but also smile. "You to Mr. Prior. I meant it when I said I want you to know me. If you have any additional questions please ask them. I want you to trust me and trust that I love your daughter more than anything in this world." My dad and I agree to stay in the room and sit back down.

Jonah administers the truth serum and starts his interrogation shortly.

"Please state your name" Jonah says.

"Tobias Eaton, although here in Dauntless I'm known as Four" Tobias answers automatically.

"What was your faction of origin?"

"Abnegation."

"What faction did you choose?"

"Dauntless."

"Why?" he asks. Oh boy.

"Because of my father" Tobias answers and I see his face contort. He doesn't want to speak about it.

"Can you be more specific?" Jonah inquires.

"He was abusive. He beat me every time he saw fit." I can tell this is news for the council members, including my dad. They all believed the lies Marcus told everyone in Abnegation. But none of them can deny the truthfulness of his words. That's actually a plus for the truth serum.

"I've known your father for years. Please, forgive me if I'm a little shocked" Jonah sincerely says.

"It's okay. Most people, if not all believed it to be a lie" Tobias says. "Sometimes I believed that I was wrong. My father used to tell me he did it for my own good. But how can it be for a child's on good to be beaten unconscious with a belt by his own father? Or locked into a small closet? He used to say that I would be a better man and I would thank him some day."

They all remain silent after this new revelation. I can tell they have a hard time believing it. It was much easier to believe a lie than see the truth.

"How could he hide this?" Daniel suddenly asks.

"He always made sure to hit me where it wouldn't be detected. I have several scars on my back. During summer, when there was no school he sometimes hit me in the face. I was unable to leave the house for days before my wounds healed. He was more cautious during the rest of the year when I would have to go to school, but sometimes he came home from work and was in such a bad mood that even my sole presence would set him off. He would beat me senseless, usually leaving my unconscious body where it fell. I often prayed to pass out soon" he says, tears gathering in his eyes. I have long given up on holding back my tears and I'm now sobbing like a little child. Tobias told me all this, but every time I'm reminded of it I can't help but cry for him, for everything this monster put him through. If Marcus would be here right now I would rip him to pieces and I doubt anyone could or would stop me.

"My God" I hear my dad say. "I had no idea. He always told us you were a sick little boy and that he had to take care of you. When you chose Dauntless two years ago we all thought you were an ungrateful brat. And to think that we thought of you as a traitor to our faction, which by the way he started if my memory doesn't trick me" my dad says and the other three nod in agreement.

"I don't care that I'm seen as a traitor in Abnegation. The only thing I did care about was to get out of his house. And choosing another faction was the only way to ensure never seeing him again. Or at least not daily."

"Why did you choose Dauntless?" Michael asks.

"I thought of my possibilities. Candor – I couldn't risk it. They would have administered truth serum and everything would have been out in the open. Amity – I'm not the most patient or kind person. At least not with everyone" he says looking at me and I try to smile. "Erudite – I'm smart, but not that smart. Dauntless was my only real option. Here I learned how to fight, how to defend myself. I knew that I would ever have to see my father again he would never lay a finger on me again."

"Why didn't you come forth and say something about the abuse?" my dad asks.

"Would you have believed me?" Tobias asks. "Besides I don't want to be a victim. I never wanted to be one."

"Still, you should have said something" Michael argues.

"Like what?" I find myself asking. They turn around and look at me like I've lost my mind.

"That his father is abusive, he could have shown us his scars" Jonah says.

"That's easier said than done. My father didn't just beat the crap out of me, he made sure to make me submissive. And even if I would have brought up the courage to say something he would have found a way to explain it."

"Why do you think that?" Daniel asks.

"Because he made you believe that my mother died" Tobias confesses.

"What? What do you mean?" my dad asks skeptical. "She died. I went to her funeral."

"No, she didn't. Nine years ago she had enough and left him. She lived factionless ever since. She contacted me two years ago after my initiation."

"Did he beat her too?" Jonah asks terrified of the answer as far as I can tell.

"Yes. She left him. But she also left me. They both let me believe my mother had died. I don't know what is worse my father beating me or my mother abandoning me. I don't know if I will ever be able to forgive either of them." New tears stream down my cheeks.

Everyone is quiet for a while before Jonah resumes his questioning.

"Did you ever aspire to become a Dauntless leader?"

"No."

"Are you glad that you are one now?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I believe I can change things here for the better. I saw firsthand how unjust our former leaders were and I plan on changing that."

"Do you believe you can be a good leader?"

"Yes, especially with Tris's help" he says and I smile warmly at him. Jonah turns around and looks at me.

"Do you think Tris will be a good leader?"

"Yes. She may not know it yet, but I think she will be the best leader Dauntless ever had. And I plan on helping her."

"You love her?"

"With all my heart. I would die without her."

"Beatrice" my dad says looking at me.

"Yes?"

"Could you please wait outside. I want to ask Four a few things without you here. It might be embarrassing" he says.

"Don't worry, Mr. Prior, I don't have and I don't plan on having secrets from her" Tobias confidently says.

"Alright" my dad says reluctantly. "This is more of an informal questioning. I didn't plan it, since I thought I would be waiting outside during your interrogation." He gets up of his seat and approaches Tobias. "I know my daughter loves you and I already knew that you love her. What are your intentions for the future?" my dad asks and I want to protest. That's unfair. This has nothing to do with his honesty or loyalty toward Dauntless. I open my mouth but Tobias already answers.

"With your blessing I'm going to marry her" he proudly says. What? How can he think of that already. We've been together for just a few weeks. We love each other, very much actually, but still.

"You want to marry her?" my dad asks incredulous.

"Yes. Not right now, I'm aware we have been together for only a few weeks. But I'm sure I want to make her my wife and the mother of my children. Before that however I want us to build everything up again, for Dauntless, for the city and it's an extreme hard work ahead of us. I want us to live in peace and enjoy every moment we will have together. But I will never love another woman ever again. I would walk through hell and back for her."

"Thank you, Four" my dad says. "Jonah, could you please administer the antiserum." Jonah gets up from where he was sitting and injects Tobias with the antiserum. I get up from my chair and grab a glass of water for Tobias. I walk over to him and kneel down in front of him, tears in my eyes.

"Please, don't cry sweetheart. I'm fine. It's over" he says wiping the tears of my face with his thumbs.

"You want to marry me?" I ask in a low voice.

"Yes. I love you with all my heart. And even though I know that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you, I'm well aware that we are not ready yet. This was something I actually didn't want to share. I will ask you when we are both ready, okay?" I only nod and kiss his lips. When we part I hand him the glass of water and he eagerly drinks it.

After Tobias feels better we talk about the rest of the interrogations. We tell them that some of our friends will be interrogated today and starting tomorrow the rest of Dauntless. We decide that Tobias will be in the room with my dad and Jonah during the interrogations, while I will be with Daniel and Michael.

"Just a few things before we start with our first volunteer, gentlemen" Tobias says. "Please, don't ever mention my real name. I'm Four. And another thing, please, do not tell anyone about what you have just learned. It is a private matter and I want it to stay that way. And especially do not tell Marcus any of it. In fact, if you could pretend that this never happened, that would be great."

"I don't know if I can, Four" my dad says. "I trusted your father, we all did. It's horrible that he mistreated his son and wife, but it's even more disturbing that for years he had us fooled. But we are also to blame, we never questioned it. Even when Erudite released those articles. I'm ashamed."

"We all are, Andrew" Michael says.

"It's okay. Please, try to not change your attitude toward Marcus. I don't want to cause trouble. Don't be friends with him anymore, if you don't want to, but don't let what you've learned here get out of this room. It's not worth speaking about anymore. And he is not worth it to even be part of a conversation."

"You are a bigger man than we gave you credit for" Daniel says and the others agree.

"I think we should start the interrogations" Jonah reminds us. We all agree and I walk outside to call our friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope I nailed Tobias's interrogation. I wanted to show a little emotions on his part, but not make him appear like a wuss, cause his not. But domestic abuse is terrible and there's no way to get out of it unharmed - physical and emotional.
> 
> What do you think the Abnegation members will do regarding Marcus, now that they've learned about his abusive nature?
> 
> How will Andrew perceive Tobias now?
> 
> Will he finally except him or will this be more of a reason to keep his daughter away from him?


	16. Chapter 16

16

The interrogations of our friends don't take as long as Tobias's. For one because they are asked specific questions and for the other we split up into two teams. Tobias stayed behind in his office with my dad and Jonah, while I went to Eric's old office with Michael and Daniel. One by one each of our friends is interrogated. My team interrogates Will, Christina and Marlene and to my surprise Tori, who heard from Lynn. By lunchtime we are done with today's interrogations and we walk our guests out.

"We will see each other tomorrow at nine" Jonah says.

"Alright" Tobias says. "Goodbye."

"Dad, you have somewhere you need to be?" I ask.

"No, not really. Why?"

"I would like to show you our apartment. Mom saw it on Saturday, it's only fair you see it too" I say.

"That's a great idea" Tobias says from behind me. "You should also stay for lunch. We can cook something at home" he suggests.

"I don't want to be a burden" my dad says.

"Please, it's not a burden, Mr. Prior."

My dad finally agrees and we walk up to our apartment. While Tobias starts lunch I show my dad around, avoiding the bedroom. I know he must know Tobias and I sleep in the same bed, but I'm still uncomfortable with him actually seeing it. So I just tell him about the rooms upstairs and decide to show him the balcony instead.

"It's beautiful, Beatrice. And the view is breathtaking."

"Yeah, I love it here. We both do."

"Beatrice, I'm sorry for giving Four such a hard time" my dad says.

"It's okay, Mr. Prior" Tobias says, coming outside to join us. "I'm sorry, I wasn't eavesdropping. It will take at least thirty minutes before lunch is ready."

"Four, I'm sorry for being so unfair to you."

"No, please, Mr. Prior, you were looking out for Tris. That's what any good father would have done. I don't blame you. I would have if you wouldn't have."

"Please, Four, call me Andrew, we are family now. And not because of what you said in your office, well that too, but for allowing me to hear your story."

"Alright Andrew. And even though I said I don't want anyone to repeat it you can of course tell your wife what you have learned. I was planning on telling her anyway. I want both of you to feel comfortable around me and understand why I don't want anything to do with my father."

"I understand."

"And Andrew… please call me Tobias when we are alone. It is my name and I know you will respect my wish to be called Four in public. But as you said it, you and your wife are part of my family now, whether Tris and I are married or not. There will be no other woman for me for as long as I live. And I want you and Natalie to get to know me as Tobias, not Four. Four is just part of who I am" Tobias says and I know he means it.

"Thank you, Tobias, I really appreciate this" dad replies.

"How about I leave you two to talk a little more. I'm going to call mom and let her know you are here with us" I say and leave before either can say anything.

I walk into the kitchen to see what Tobias cooked for us. I'm surprised to see that it is a traditional Abnegation lunch, some pea soup with toast. I take my phone out and dial my parent's home number. After the second ring my mom answers the phone.

"Hello?" she asks.

"Hi mom."

"Beatrice, what a lovely surprise. Is everything alright?"

"Yes. We finished for today and dad is here with Four and me. We invited him over for lunch. Well, I actually wanted them to bond a little more while supervising" I tell her.

"That's good. I told your father to be nice to your boyfriend. Is he nice?"

"Yeah, especially after Four's interrogation earlier this morning. Dad will tell you all about it."

"But aren't they supposed to remain private?"

"Yeah, but Four actually told dad to tell you. He will tell you himself when you come over on Saturday for that lunch we planned. But I think it's best if dad tells you the story. I don't want to put Four through it over and over again. You'll understand when dad tells you everything."

"Alright. Thank you for calling me and letting me know where your dad is."

"Mom, have you heard anything from Caleb?" I ask a little worried.

"He called us yesterday. They are trying to rebuild Erudite, but until they start interrogations over there too it might take a while. But he's fine. A little overwhelmed with work, but he's fine. He asked me to say hello next time I see or speak to you, so hello." We both laugh at that.

"I can't wait to see you again, mom."

"Me neither, sweetheart. But trust me, this week will pass in no time."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Especially since Four and I will be supervising the interrogations. Listen I need to go. Lunch is ready and I haven't really paid close attention to dad and Four."

"Don't worry, sweetie, everything will be fine."

"I hope so. Bye mom."

"Goodbye Beatrice and give Four a hug from me."

"You like him, right mom?"

"Of course I do. He loves you very much and that's all that matters to me. And your father by the way. He just likes to be overprotective."

"Okay. Bye. Again."

"Goodbye."

We hang up and I take the soup of the stove. I set the table and call my dad and Tobias. They come inside and sit down. We eat our meal in silence before my dad speaks again.

"This soup is delicious, Beatrice."

"Yeah, it is. But you have to thank Tobias for it. He made it."

"I'm impressed, Tobias, it's really good."

"Thank you. I don't know how to cook many dishes, but those I know I'm proud to say are very good."

"Will you be cooking on Saturday too?" my dad asks with a smirk.

"Hey!" I yell offended.

"What's wrong, Tris?" Tobias asks confused.

"Beatrice can't really cook. She once almost burned down the kitchen" my dad tells amused.

"Not true. That was Caleb. He left the kitchen towel on the stove" I defend.

"But you were in charge of watching the food. If you would have paid attention you would have seen that the towel fell from the lid on the stove and caught fire" my dad explains.

"Okay, that was one time. Doesn't mean I can't cook" I say pouting.

"Of course not. But every time your brother let you cook all by yourself you either forgot to put something in or replaced an ingredient or put too much of something in."

"That's not fair. That happened only when I had to cook something new" I say still pouting.

"That's true. Oh, come on sweetheart, I was just teasing" he says to me before turning to Tobias. "She can cook a few things."

"Doesn't matter, Tris, we can learn together. I would love that" he says and I smile at him.

"Yeah, that would actually be great. I'm going to ask mom to write me down a few Abnegation recipes and then we can alternate between Dauntless and Abnegation dishes. What do you say?"

"I think it's a great idea."

We finish our meal and then walk my dad out of Dauntless. Tobias offered to drive him home but my dad wanted to take a walk, to clear his head. After that Tobias and I return to his office and lock ourselves in.

"We need to make an announcement. People need to come tomorrow for their interrogations" Tobias says. "We also need to inform them of the sentencing of the former leaders."

"When is that going to happen?"

"This evening at six." Tobias takes a microphone that is attached to an odd looking device and makes the announcement.

"Do you know who the Dauntless accountant is?" I ask him after his done.

"A Joffrey Walsh. Do you need me to call him?"

"Yes, please. We should talk to him."

"I agree. We need to talk to everyone who had a key position here in Dauntless. I think we should make a list and ask these people to come tomorrow for questioning. Based on the results of the interrogations we can decide who keeps his or her job and who doesn't. We need to be able to trust our staff."

"You are right. Let's see" I say "accountant, chief of the infirmary, that's Dr. Morris, Connor Harrison who is charge of the ambassadors, Zeke who will be in charge of the control room. Who else?"

"There is someone in charge of our supplies and storage unit" Tobias looks over some files "a Beth Aubrey. Then we have someone who is in charge of the cafeteria, Michaela Stone, Jeremy Renner in charge of personnel, Angus Writhe in charge of spaces, both private and public. These are the most important. We should contact them all and ask them to meet with us."

"I agree. You have their phone numbers?" I ask. He nods and hands me a list. We call everyone to his office, thankfully they all could spare a few minutes to talk to us.

"Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice" Tobias says now transformed into Four.

"We asked you here because we are well aware of your position here in Dauntless. Each and every one of you has an important job that keeps this place going" I continue.

"We wanted to ask you to come in tomorrow morning and go under truth serum first, setting a good example for all the other Dauntless" Tobias says.

"You can count on it, Four" Dr. Morris says.

"Absolutely" Mr. Harrison agrees. The others nod their heads.

"After the interrogations are over some Dauntless might not keep their current positions" Tobias announces.

"Why is that?" Mr. Walsh, the accountant asks. Geez, he looks like a snake.

"Because it's very possible that others among us are traitors" I say eyeing his reaction. He flinches. Huh, I wonder if his Erudite-born. "Mr. Walsh, by any chance were you a transfer?" I ask.

"Uhm, yes" he answers nervous.

"Erudite-born?" I dig further.

"Yes" he says in a low voice before realizing what I'm actually asking. "I assure you, Tris, I'm not a traitor" he says rushing the words out.

"No one said that" Tobias says calm, yet intimidating. I wonder if I will ever be able to pull a Four voice. I have to try it out sometime.

"You have to understand my uneasiness" I say in a calm, sweet voice. "The recent events cut deep into us all, no matter if we were here for a long or a short time. We all chose Dauntless and we were all betrayed by our former leaders."

"I can assure you I'm loyal" he says in a louder voice.

"No need to get loud" Tobias growls at him and he backs off.

"What I'm saying is, we don't know each other, not really. And for us to rebuild this place we need to be able to trust the people surrounding us. I'm not talking only about Four and myself, but also you. Most of you have seen my interrogation and know who and what I am. Four went through his earlier today and was validated by the City Council. If you have any objections or concerns regarding us this is the time to speak up." I let them think for a while before the cafeteria lady, Mrs. Stone, speaks up.

"We chose you two to lead us. We trust you. When all hell broke loose you fought for our faction and the city. If it wouldn't have been for you we would be murderers right now. You prevented that and you retook control of the compound. And then you Tris volunteered to be interrogated in front of the whole city, even though you did nothing wrong. You told everyone that you are divergent and explained what it meant. I'm Dauntless-born but I never felt so ashamed in my life. I believed the rumors and lies and judged people for being different and then you, a mere girl of sixteen, proves to all of us what our faction manifesto promotes – small acts of bravery. As far as I'm concerned, wherever the two of you lead I will follow" she finishes her speech and I'm so struck by her sincere words that I walk over and hug her.

"Thank you. To hear this gives me new strength to carry this heavy weight. I promise you, all of Dauntless, that I will do everything in my power to give everyone a good life here. But to be able to do that I need your help. Don't misunderstand Four and me, we want to trust everyone, but after what happened forgive us for being cautious. I'm sure everything will check out during your interrogations."

"Don't worry, Tris, we understand. You would be fools and not the people we think you are if you wouldn't question us and our loyalty" Mr. Harrison says.

"We want to help you rebuild our faction and make it a better place" Mrs. Aubrey says.

"It used to be different here" Mr. Renner says and the others nod.

"People used to work together, help each other. But for the past five or so years things changed dramatically. The leaders adopted a every-man-for-himself policy" Mr. Writhe adds.

"Four told me about this" I say.

"This is one of the things we want to change as soon as possible" Tobias says.

"We will help you accomplish it, if you allow us" Mr. Harrison says.

"It would be our honor" Tobias says.

"Please be here at nine a.m." I say and after saying goodbye they all leave.

"Mr. Walsh, can I have a word with you?" I ask.

"Of course" he says.

"Please sit down" I show him the chair in front of Tobias's desk. I whisper in Tobias's ear, telling him to sit at his desk, while I stand on his right side eyeing the accountant. "Mr. Walsh, would it be possible to give the initiates an allowance until they start working?" I ask.

"I suppose. How much?" he asks.

"What do you suggest? It should be enough for them to live. What's the minimum wage for a full day of work?"

"Thirty five points" he answers.

"Alright. How about they each receive 20 points per day, Saturdays and Sundays not included?"

"That'll work. I'll put it in the books and program the computer to pay them every day. Since when do you want to pay them?" he asks. He always looks toward Tobias, although Tobias remained silent the whole time. I don't know if he doesn't like me or thinks I'm less of a leader compared to Tobias.

"Since last Tuesday, when we all became members" I say.

"I will set up ten special accounts for the initiates until they start their jobs" he says smiling, but it's a cold smile that creeps me out.

"Nine" Tobias says.

"Pardon?" Walsh asks confused.

"Nine accounts" he explains.

"I thought we had ten initiates" Walsh says.

"We do. But as you can see Tris is a leader and has been working ever since the former leaders arrest" Tobias says glaring at Walsh.

"Of course, my mistake. My apologies, Four" he says avoiding looking at me.

"You need to apologize to her not me" Tobias says and I can hear in his voice that he gets angrier by the minute with Walsh's attitude toward me.

"Of course, my apologies Tris" he says looking at me.

"It's okay, everyone makes mistakes" I say smiling.

"How much will Tris earn?" Walsh addresses Tobias again. Yep. He doesn't like me.

"How much does a leader earn?" Tobias asks.

"Uhm, seventy points" Walsh answers.

"So I, as a leader, would earn seventy points a day, correct?"

"Yes."

"Tris is a leader" Tobias says. When he doesn't receive an answer he asks "Correct?"

"Yes."

"Then why ask how much Tris would earn if you already know. Tris is as much of leader as I am and you owe her the same respect you owe me. Can I ask you what problem do you have with her?" Tobias asks bluntly.

"None. I have no problem. Why would I have a problem?" Walsh stutters.

"I saw the way you look and the way you talk to her, like she is my secretary. She is not. And if you ever dare being disrespectful like that again I will sanction you, according to our faction rules. Have I made myself clear?" Tobias raises his voice and Walsh practically burrows himself into his chair.

"Yes, Four. My apologies Tris, I didn't mean to. It's a misunderstanding" he tries to get himself out of this mess.

"It's ok, Mr. Walsh. Let's start over. Water under the bridge" I say. "Please, make sure that the initiates receive their allowance" I say and extend my hand signaling that this meeting is over. Walsh shakes my hand, and yuck he's sweaty, then leaves the office.

"I wanted to beat the crap out of him for being so rude to you" Tobias says angry.

"Calm down, honey."

"How can I calm down, Tris. He avoided you the entire time and then offends you by putting you in the same place with the other initiates."

"I know, but it doesn't matter."

"How can you be so calm?" he asks pulling me into his lap. I place my right hand on his face, while the left one holds his head in place.

"I'm not going to let this slime ball ruin my day. And neither should you. Besides, after today I doubt he will ever try to be disrespectful again" I say before kissing his lips.

"You are too good" he says smiling.

"Nah, I'm just in a good mood" I say and he laughs.

"But seriously now. What do you think of them?" he asks.

"They seem honest and willing to help us. But I'm not going to form an opinion before their interrogations. And as for Mr. Walsh we should keep an eye on him. Even if he passes tomorrows interrogation doesn't mean his job is safe or anyone else's. We should implement a system that rewards hard work and if someone is lazy or makes too many mistakes he or she should be removed. Also that person should be allowed to learn a new trade. I mean think of the initiates and the jobs we offer them. Maybe someone picks to be an ambassador but does a terrible job. He only got it because of ranking. I'm not saying we should abolish this practice, but reevaluate if someone fits in or not."

"Wow, you really thought about this, didn't you?" Tobias asks surprised.

"Yeah, between love making and showering together" I say and he laughs hard.

"If those activities help you work better, than by all means I'll help you more" he says, smiling at me sexy.

"Maybe I can help you get some of these good ideas too" I say biting his left earlobe. He moans and pulls me closer to him.

"You should definitely help me come up with some ideas of my own" he says in a husky voice before crashing his lips on mine. We kiss passionately for a long while before we let go of each other breathless.

"We should get back to work" I say still panting.

"Yeah, we should" he says trying to calm his own breathing.

"We should write down all the things we want to change and how to do that. After the interrogations we should call a staff meeting and discuss problems. The more urgent go first and for the others we develop long term solutions" I say still sitting in his lap.

"We should also have someone in charge of divergents" Tobias says caressing my cheek.

"What do you mean?" I ask confused.

"Well, we said we would explain to the city what it means to be divergent, but other than being awake during simulations do you know anything else?" he points out. I shake my head no. "We should put a team together just like you said that gathers questions from the Dauntless at first and answer them as best as we can. We also should have someone that represents the divergent population in Dauntless."

"You think that's wise? It's not like they are a different part of Dauntless. I mean we, I mean the divergent. Geez, this is hard."

"I know. What I meant is, maybe some divergents among us feel uncomfortable talking to you and me, because we are their leaders. And even if that is not the case we won't have time. We need someone who can occupy this position permanently. A person they can trust."

"Maybe you are right. We need to think of someone. But let's focus on the more urgent things. We need to reestablish good connections to the other factions. Tomorrow I'll ask my dad when the next City Council meeting will take place. I need to make an appearance there."

"Are you sure it's okay with you if you go alone?" he asks.

"Of course, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself" I say jokingly.

"Honey, you know what I meant" he says seriously. He means his dad. I nod.

"Don't worry. I'll call my dad… actually I'll do that now before I forget. Hang on." I get off of his lap and he pouts. "Relax, I'm just taking out my phone. You are like a little boy that can't play with the toy he wants" I say laughing.

"You are my favorite toy" he says grinning and I blush understanding the implications of his statement. I take out my phone and dial my dad's number. After the second ring he picks up.

"Hey dad" I say.

"Hello Beatrice" he says.

"Wait, I'll put you on speaker phone so that Tobias can hear you too" I say setting the phone to speaker.

"Hello Andrew" Tobias says.

"Hello Tobias. How can I help you two?" my dad asks.

"Dad, I was wondering, is there any rule book for the City Council? I mean what the council can or cannot do and stuff" I ask.

"There is. Why?"

"Can I have a copy? I'm going to represent Dauntless on the council and I want to know what goes and what don't."

"Just you?" my dad asks.

"Yes."

"I asked Tris to do it since I don't want to see him" Tobias says. "I know it's selfish, but I can't help it."

"No, it's not. I already told you that. There's no need for both leaders to attend those meetings" I firmly say.

"Beatrice is right, Tobias. If anyone asks you are needed in Dauntless" my dad assures us. I'm so glad my parents know the truth now.

"So, dad, about that copy" I start trying to change the subject.

"Alright. I can bring you my copy tomorrow. You can keep it as long as you need it" he says.

"Thank you" I say.

"Do you need anything else?" he asks.

"Yeah. You know when the next council meeting will take place?"

"We have to organize something, but my guess not this week. Maybe not even next week. I'll let you know, don't worry, sweetheart."

"Thanks dad. We gotta go. Say hello to mom and give her a hug" I say.

"From me too" Tobias says next to me.

"I'll do that. Goodbye."

"Goodbye" Tobias and I say in unison.

I hang up and put my phone on the desk. I turn around and hug Tobias.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what's with the hug?" he asks amused.

"I talked earlier to mom and she told me to hug you. I forgot. I'm sorry" I say still holding him close to me.

"It's okay, but we should stop now" he says seriously. I pull away from him and he looks at me seriously. "What?" he asks.

"You don't like it when I hug you?" I ask a little hurt by his reaction.

"Don't be silly" he says to me, smiling now "I love hugging you. But this was supposed to be from your mom. It would be inappropriate if it would last any longer" he says. Then I get it. He's joking. I smack his shoulder.

"Are you kidding me? I thought you were seriously telling me you don't like it when I hug you" I say offended.

"Don't get mad honey. It was a joke" he says laughing and pulls me into a bear hug. "I love you" he says after a while.

"I love you too."

We part and for the sake of getting some work done I sit on the chair across from his desk. We spend the next few hours writing down things we want to change, some ideas on how to improve some things or replace others, we make plans and before we know it it's eight p.m. already. We get up, leave our notes in Tobias's desk drawer, walk out, lock the door and walk hand in hand to the cafeteria to get some supper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What's your opinion on Walsh? Should he stay or go?
> 
> And as always reviews are welcomed :)
> 
> Until Sunday!


	17. Chapter 17

17

We get inside the cafeteria and most of Dauntless is already eating and chit-chatting about their day. We walk over to our regular table and find our friends there. We sit down and fill our plates.

"Did you guys go to Candor?" Uriah asks us. Right, they read the sentences of the conspiracy criminals today.

"No, we worked until now in my office" Tobias answers.

"Did any of you go?" I ask.

"No" Christina says practically answering for everybody.

"How's life as Dauntless leaders?" Shauna asks us.

"You know, all party, booze and tons of other goodies" I say. They all start laughing.

"When did you get so funny?" Lynn asks.

"I always was. I just had to hide it" I answer taking a bite from my burger.

"Under Abnegation grey?" Uriah asks.

"Under a lot of grey and then black. You think Eric would have allowed a Stiff like me to have fun. I actually had tons of bald jokes for him" I say, taking another bite.

"Really?" Tobias asks me raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, really" I say trying to look seriously.

"Tell one" he dares.

"Alright. What do you call lice on a bald man's head?" I ask and look around to see if anyone answers. "Homeless." They burst into laughter.

"Geez, that was so un-Stiff-like" Lynn says.

"Why do you think I left? They couldn't have handled me."

"You have any more?" Marlene asks.

"Sure. I had tons of jokes whenever Eric behaved like an asshole."

"Go ahead, tell them" Zeke encourages and even Tobias smiles.

"Okay. Why do bald-headed men never use keys? Because they've lost their locks." I continue telling another few and then each one at our table tells one or two of their own.

"What do you get if you cross an idiot with a watch?" Lynn asks. "A cuckoo clock."

"What did the stupid ghost do?" Marlene asks. "Climb over walls."

"My turn" says Tobias. "Two men were knocking in nails to the sides of a house, one of them kept throwing them away. Why do you keep throwing nails away, said the other. Because they have the point at the wrong end, he replied. You fool, we could use these on the other side of the house." We laugh even harder and by the time we are done telling jokes most of the people in the cafeteria left.

I look around and see only a few tables with one or two Dauntless still eating. I scan the room and see Peter at the far end of the room. He seems to be distracted by something he's reading, not paying any attention to anything. I look away and return my attention to my friends.

"We need a party" Zeke says.

"Absolutely" Shauna agrees.

"We should wait after the interrogations" Tobias says.

"Yeah, no problem, but after that we have a party Dauntless style" Zeke replies.

"What's a party Dauntless style?" I ask.

"Lots of music, lots of booze, lots of dancing… you'll see" Shauna explains.

"Sounds great" Christina says.

"Yeah, it would be good to have some fun after all that hard work during initiation and then the thing with the leaders" Will says.

"You know what we can have?" Marlene asks. "A Candor or Dauntless party."

"Yeah, absolutely" Uriah agrees with her.

"What's that?" I ask.

"Truth or dare, but you have to do or answer truthfully whatever you are asked and if you refuse you need to take off a clothing item" Christina explains.

"How do you know that?" I ask her.

"I talk to people. And I might or might not have been invited to one" she says.

"What? Where was I?" I ask suddenly feeling left out.

"My guess with Four. You really disappeared on us lately" she answers.

"Well we had a lot of stuff to do" I defend.

"We can have a party Friday night" Marlene suggests.

"No, we can't. Well, you can but Tris and I can't come" Tobias says and I glare at him.

"Why not?" I ask sounding like a child that just got grounded.

"We have company on Saturday. We want to be up and sober by the time they come" he says.

"Oh, right. Can we do it Saturday night?" I ask.

"Sure, no problem" Marlene agrees.

"Where?" I ask.

"My place of course" Zeke says.

"Alright, it's settled then. Candor or Dauntless, Saturday at Zeke's" Christina says.

"The party starts at seven, so come around eight" Shauna says and we laugh.

We say goodbye to our friends and walk back home. The moment I step inside our apartment I feel extremely tired. I yawn a few times on my way up the stairs and Tobias puts his arm around my waist. I look up at him quizzically.

"You might fall over if I don't hold you" he says with a chuckle.

"I'm just so tired. It's like I've been working out for hours" I say yawning again.

"I'm tired too. Let's go to bed. We have a long day ahead of us."

We both change into our PJ's and go into the bathroom simultaneously to brush our teeth. We get out and slip into bed, cuddling until we fall asleep in each other's arms.

I wake up the next morning still wrapped in Tobias's arms, but unlike yesterday he is awake watching me.

"Where's my kiss?" I ask. He smiles and kisses me immediately. When we break apart I say "didn't we agree to wake each other with a kiss every morning?"

"Yeah, but you slept so peacefully that I couldn't" he says kissing the tip of my nose. "What were you dreaming about?" he asks.

"What? Why do you assume I dreamed at all?" I ask confused.

"You were smiling in your sleep."

"Oh. I have no clue. I don't remember dreaming, but I guess it must have been a good dream" I say smiling up at him.

"Alright. What would you like for breakfast?" he asks grinning.

"Same as yesterday" I say and before I know it he's on top of me kissing every little bit of exposed skin.

We take our time exploring each other's bodies kissing, licking, sucking and biting every now and then. We make love twice before me manage to get out of bed and start our day. We decide to not shower together, since we might run late if we do. Tobias let's me shower first, while making some pancakes for breakfast. I get out of the shower and get dressed. I decide on black skinny jeans, a tank top and my combat boots. I really need to go shopping for some new clothes.

I go downstairs and Tobias offers me a mug of freshly made coffee. We eat our meal and while I clean up he takes his shower and gets ready for the day.

We walk to his office and go inside, since it's still time for the council members to arrive. We sit on the couch with the notes we took yesterday and talk a little more about our plans for Dauntless.

"You need an office" Tobias suddenly says. I know what he means but I decide to tease him a little.

"You're already bored with me?" I ask acting all offended.

"What? No. God no, Tris. You're the best thing that ever happened to me. I will never get bored with you" he says and I can't keep it together. "You…" he says realizing what I did. He grabs me and tickles me and I laugh so hard tears stream down my face. A loud knock on the door surprises us and Tobias gets up to answer the door. My dad stands in the doorway and looks inside and sees my tear-stained face.

"What happened?" he asks genuinely concerned.

"I got attacked by a tickle monster" I say and burst into laughter.

"A tickle monster?" my dad asks.

"Yes, I'm sorry Andrew. We were joking around. I'm sorry" Tobias says looking like he just got caught with his hands in a cookie jar.

"It's alright, Four. I thought for a moment that something was wrong."

"No, dad. Everything's fine. Please, everybody come in. Can I offer you something? Coffee? Tea?" I ask our guests. They accept the coffee and we tell them that we have a few members of the closer staff in mind to be interrogated first. Since it's all the same for them we set everything up, one team in Tobias's office, the other in Eric's old office. While I help Daniel and Michael getting ready Tobias walks in and asks to speak with me outside.

"Is something wrong?" I ask him.

"No, I just missed you" he says smirking.

"Honey, you just saw me. You are being silly" I say laughing.

"I'm in love. I'm entitled to be silly" he says solemnly.

"Okay, if you say so" I say while wrapping my arms around his neck pulling him down for a kiss. We kiss for a moment very well aware that we are in public and my dad could walk in on us any moment. When we part we smile at each other before Tobias finally walks back to his office he bends down and gives me one quick peck.

I walk back inside and we wait for the first person to come in. To my surprise it's Mr. Harrison. We greet each other and within the next five minutes he is interrogated. The interrogations run smoothly, no incidents whatsoever. Besides Mr. Harrison I also get to interrogate Mr. Writhe, Mrs. Stone and Mrs. Aubrey. Thankfully, Walsh is in Tobias's group along with Dr. Morris and Mr. Renner. We actually finish our interrogations right in time for lunch and Tobias announces over the intercom that Dauntless members are expected after lunch, at one p.m. to present themselves at the offices for interrogations. Tobias and I invite the council members back home to eat there. We have an hour and a half left until the next interrogation session starts. We walk up to our apartment and our guests look amazed at our Dauntless home.

"It's beautiful here, Tris" Daniel says to me. Since we worked so close together all day we decided to call each other on a first name basis. It's much easier and friendlier.

"Thank you" I say. "Four and I will start lunch in a minute. Would you like something to drink? Coffee, tea, water?" I ask them.

I make some tea since all four of them had enough coffee for today and I invite them to sit on the couch and watch a movie. At first they refuse saying something about selfish and I tell them they are in Dauntless now and it would be rude and selfish of them to impose Abnegation rules in my home. They seem to give in and I put in a comedy Christina swears is funny. I haven't seen it yet but I make a mental note to watch it later with Tobias. I walk back into the kitchen and help Tobias cook. We make a simple chicken soup with noodles, some rice with mushrooms and semolina pudding for dessert. Within thirty minutes the meal is ready and I set the table. I call our guests to the dining table and we start eating.

"That was delicious" Michael says. "Thank you Tris and Four."

"You're welcome" I say while gathering the dishes. "No, sit down, I'll do it" I tell Tobias. He reluctantly sits back down and my dad comes after me, bringing what I couldn't carry. "Thank you, dad."

"You're welcome. I have to say it's still strange for me to see you all grown up, living with your boyfriend in this big apartment" he starts saying.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Are you still unsure about Tobias?" I ask afraid of his answer.

"No, sweetheart. I now know why he left and I have to admit he is a better man than his father ever pretended to be. Tobias might be rough on the edges, but his goodhearted and has good intentions. But most importantly he loves you and that's all I really cared about."

"Thank you, dad. Have you told him?"

"I did actually. This morning before we started the interrogations."

"Good. He really wants you and mom to like him. He knows that even though I love you both I will never allow you to interfere between him and me, but he wants everything to be alright between me and you guys. He is really selfless and it has nothing to do with him growing up in Abnegation."

"I know, I've noticed. He doesn't need to be concerned though. I really like him and your mom already loves him like a son. To be honest I already see him like one. But please let me tell him that when the time is right" he asks me.

"Of course and I'm so glad to hear that. I really wanted you two to get along. I love him very much, dad, and I already consider him part of my family, legally or not" I say and my father nods.

"You really picked a good man, Beatrice" my dad says and kisses my forehead. "Come on, let's go back to the others before Jonah talks the others stupid about some rules or directives in the City Council's law book." We laugh at that and return to the others. I only now realize that I forgot to ask my dad for his copy of that book.

"Dad, did you bring me that book?"

"Yes, it's in Four's office" he says.

"I forgot to take it with me when we came to eat lunch" Tobias says apologetically.

"Don't worry, honey. We can bring it up later."

Even though it's still early we return to the offices to get ready for the next session. We still have fifteen minutes left so we sit in Tobias's office and talk about little things, nothing really important.

For the next six hours we go through countless interrogations. It was a good idea to split into two teams, we managed to cover almost half of the Dauntless population. When we start running out of truth serum I go check on Tobias's supply and decide to call it a night. I apologize to the few people still waiting outside and offer them to call them in first tomorrow morning. They agree and I make a list. I return to the office and help Daniel and Michael put everything away, before we join my dad, Jonah and Tobias.

Since it's late and everyone is tired Tobias offers to drive them home in the SUV. They start saying that it's not necessary but Tobias insists and they give in. We say goodbye and I hug my dad. I watch them leave and head back home. On my way up I decide to take a detour to see Christina. I knock on her door and thankfully she's home.

"What's up, Tris?"

"I wanted to ask you a favor" I say.

"Sure. Hit me."

"Tomorrow will be a long day as well and I have neither a clue what to cook or am I in the mood for it."

"How can I help you? Do you want me to cook? I mean, I can cook but I don't know if you would like it."

"I'm sure I would love it, but that's not it. Could you bring up some lunch for the council members, Four and me?"

"Sure. I'll ask the others to help me. When?"

"Around eleven thirty a.m. How about you come to Eric's old office around eleven and we prepare everything. I also need to give you my keys" I say.

"Sure. Don't worry."

"How's everything going?" she asks genuinely interested.

"It's going well. We managed to interrogated almost half of Dauntless today. We should be done hopefully by tomorrow. If not we still have Thursday to finish up" I explain.

"Okay. And how are things between you and Four?" she asks smirking and I blush. "Oh my God! Don't tell me you two…" I nod slightly but she sees it. "That's so awesome. When? How was it?" she asks her inner Candor showing.

"Christina, I really don't want to talk about it. It's private" I say and she looks offended.

"But I thought I'm your best friend?"

"You are, but what happens between Four and me stays between him and me alone. Besides I'm not really comfortable talking about these things" I try to explain.

"I didn't mean to know every little detail" she says. "It's just I really need someone I can talk to about these things."

"Did you and Will?" I ask realizing that she might want to know about my first time to compare notes.

"Yeah" she says in a low voice.

"You didn't enjoy it?" I ask remembering what Dr. Montgomery told me about having sex too soon.

"Yeah, well it hurt at first, but then it got better" she confesses. "How was it for you?" she asks expectantly.

"Pretty much the same, but Four made sure that it doesn't hurt me much" I say.

"How is he?" she asks curious.

"Christina!" I say scandalized.

"What? Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that. Well, only if you want to tell me. What I meant was how is he in private? He's always so serious and intimidating" she says. I get it. Everyone knows Four, they have no clue what a romantic softy he can be.

"Okay, when we are alone he's gentle and romantic. He is very different from what you know."

"I really hoped that. It would have been terrible if he would have been like that in private as well. I mean he really scared the shit out of me during initiation" she says and I laugh.

"Well duh, he had to be tough. Or do you think we would have made it otherwise?"

"No. I should have known better than to ask. I know you well enough to know that you would never be with a guy that's abusive" she says and I nod. "Besides I got a glimpse of the fun Four for the past couple of days."

We spend some more time together talking about small things and decide to go on a shopping trip Thursday afternoon. We are so engrossed in our conversation that we jump up the moment we hear a loud banging on the door. Christina and I both walk to answer the door. We are both surprised to see Will and Tobias there.

"Thank God, you are alright" Will says and pulls Christina into a tight hug.

"Tris, I tried to call you" Tobias says walking past Will and Christina and wrapping me in his arms.

"What's going on? What happened? Did something happen to my parents?" I ask afraid of what he might say.

"No, they are fine. I tried to call you, but you didn't answer" he says, worry still present in his voice. "Thank God you are alright. When I heard about it I rushed back here" he says still making no sense to me.

"Four, what's going on? You scare me" I say.

"I'm sorry, love, I didn't mean too. Eric escaped."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: How about fun-Tris? You guys like her?
> 
> And how about that? Eric escaped. Will they manage to find him? Will he cause more trouble?
> 
> Tune in on Tuesday to find out.
> 
> Till then hugs and kisses from Cloakseeker.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello everyone! Before I leave you to enjoy I want to answer a Guest's question. Maybe some of you were wondering about it as well. The question was if I would add another leader or not, since in the books they choose an odd number of leaders. Well, it was my intention from the very beginning to add a third leader, but I'm going to wait a little while longer. It's probably going to happen in the next few chapters, but since I haven't written that far ahead I couldn't possibly say when.
> 
> In any case, the plot thickens.
> 
> Thank you so much to all of you who have followed and viewed this story. I recently read something on tumblr (btw you can find mine in the Profile section :)). It was about fan fiction.
> 
> FAN FICTION IS WHAT LITERATURE MIGHT LOOK LIKE IF IT WERE REINVENTED FROM SCRATCH AFTER A NUCLEAR APOCALYPSE BY A BAND OF BRILLIANT POP-CULTURE JUNKIES TRAPPED IN A SEALED BUNKER. THEY DON'T DO IT FOR MONEY. THAT'S NOT WHAT IT'S ABOUT. THE WRITERS WRITE IT AND PUT IT UP ONLINE JUST FOR THE SATISFACTION. THEY'RE FANS, BUT THEY'RE NOT SILENT, COUCHBOUND CONSUMERS OF MEDIA. THE CULTURE TALKS TO THEM, AND THEY TALK BACK TO THE CULTURE IN ITS OWN LANGUAGE.
> 
> The Boy Who Lived Forever | Time Magazine
> 
> And that's what I'm doing here. It's how I would have liked the story to continue. After I read all three books and learned of Tris's SPOILER ALERT demise I was sad and upset and pissed at Veronica Roth for killing her. But the more I thought about it the more I realized her storyneeded it.
> 
> I will quote Tobias - I suppose a fire that burns that bright is not meant to last. (Allegiant Chapter 53)
> 
> But as a fan I am allowed to re-write history. In this story I'm able to explore a world where Tris and Tobias can live together, have everyday problems, see where there relationship goes, let them fall and get up together. The more I analyzed the Divergent Series the more I understood that FourTris and this pains me to say was never meant to be. Tris and Tobias were to much alike, to stubborn each in their own way. And you know what they say - opposites attract.
> 
> That's it 4 now :)
> 
> Enjoy!

18

"Wait what?" I ask not believing what I'm hearing.

"Jack called to alert me. I tried to call you but you didn't answer. I was worried something happened to you" Tobias says still agitated.

"Please, calm down and explain it to me" I say, pulling him toward Christina's living room. We sit down on the couch holding hands and looking into each other's eyes. Tobias closes his for a moment breathing in deeply. When he opens them again he's slightly calmer.

"I was on my way back from your parents home when my phone rang. I thought it might be you, but when I answered it was Jack. He got a call from the hospital telling him that Eric escaped. They don't know where he is. He called me first given our history with Eric and then he told me he would call the council and Erudite, as well as Amity alerting everyone that we have a dangerous criminal on the loose. I tried calling you but you didn't answer your phone." I check my pocket and realize I forgot it in Eric's old office.

"I'm sorry, honey, I forgot it in the office" I say apologetically. He must have been out of his mind when I didn't answer my phone. I cup his face and lean in kissing him gently. He wraps his arms around me, holding onto me for dear life.

We get interrupted when his phone rings again. He reluctantly let's go of me and answers it. As far as I can tell it's Zeke, which would make sense. He is in charge of the control room and has access to all the cameras.

"Any sign?" Tobias asks. "I understand. Keep watching. We need to find him" Tobias says before hanging up. "Come with me" he tells me.

"Where?"

"My office. We need to prepare a search party. Will?"

"I'll be right there" Will says and we leave.

We stay silent on our way to his office but I can tell his mind is racing a million miles per hour. We stop first at Eric's old office to get my phone then go to his. He lets me enter first and the moment the door closes behind us he pulls me into a tight embrace, holding me for a few moments before speaking again.

"I thought something happened to you" he says in a pitiful voice. He must have fought really hard to keep his Four mask in place while we had company.

"I'm sorry. I was careless. I should have checked my pockets" I say rubbing a hand up and down his back, while the other one plays with the curls on the back of his head, trying to calm him.

"It's okay. You couldn't have known. It's just when I couldn't get a hold of you I panicked. I thought maybe he got to you, maybe he hurt you or worse" he says and it breaks my heart seeing him like this. But I can understand his despair. I would have reacted the same way or worse.

"Come on, let's focus on finding this bastard" I say trying to make him focus on a specific task.

"You are right, but I want you to stay here, where you are protected" he firmly says.

"Excuse me? No way" I say.

"Tris, this is not up for debate" he says a little loud.

"Don't yell at me" I say angry.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not letting you put yourself in danger" Tobias yells.

"That's not up to you" I yell back.

"I love you and I'm not going to lose you" he tries staring me down.

"I love you too and I don't want to lose you either" I stand my ground.

He glares at me for a while before he crashes his lips on mine. I wrap my arms around his neck and he snakes his arms around my waist pulling me up. I wrap my legs around his hips and we kiss aggressive and hungrily like it's the last time. We continue our assault on each other until air becomes an issue. We pull slightly apart resting our foreheads on the others.

"I'm sorry" Tobias finally says.

"I'm sorry too, honey."

"I don't want you to go out looking for Eric. I know you can defend yourself, but his stronger than you. And even if I would know up here" he points to his head with one hand, the other one still holding me up "that you could take him in a fight in here" he says pointing toward his heart "I want to protect you. I can't stand the thought of losing you." He kisses me again, this time gentle and full of love.

"I know what you're going through. I feel the exact same way. Do you really think I could just easily sit at home waiting to hear if something might have happened to you. If you want to be sure I'm fine then let me come with you. I won't interfere, I will stay close, but I need to be sure that you are safe too" I firmly say.

"There's no way to convince you to stay home, is there?" he asks with a little smile on his face.

"No way" I say. He puts me back down and I kiss him on the lips.

"Alright. But I want you to stay close to me all the time, understood" he asks, sounding more like Four than my loving boyfriend.

"Yes, sir" I say and salute him. He chuckles at my antics.

"Alright, let's make a battle plan. But before that I need to alert Dauntless" he says. He walks over to the microphone attached to the internal intercom and announces the faction of Eric's escape. He asks for volunteers to assist us in the search and advises the rest of the faction to be cautious and alert at all times. After he finishes his announcement he takes out his phone and dials a number. "Dwayne? It's Four. Could you come to my office?" he asks this Dwayne person and then hangs up.

"Who's Dwayne?" I ask.

"Remember when we were nominated at Candor to become leaders?" he asks and I nod. "Remember who nominated us?" I think back to that day and that particular moment and a tall man with many face piercings comes to mind. I nod. "That's Dwayne. I interrogated him today. He's by far the most loyal Dauntless I've seen so far and he pledged his life to the faction and offered his unconditional support. I think he will make a great asset." Again I nod, not really knowing what else to do. A knock on the door makes me jump and I realize this situation made me more nervous than I originally thought. Tobias walks to the door and opens it, letting this Dwayne come in.

"Dwayne, you remember Tris?" Tobias asks and he nods.

"It is nice to finally meet you in person" he says smiling.

"Nice to meet you too. You nominated Four and me. May I ask why?"

"You two became our leaders the moment those lying bastards betrayed our faction and offered us on a silver plate to Jeanine Matthews. You stopped them and made sure to do everything to help our faction. And when you stepped up to tell everyone you two are divergents there was no doubt in my mind that you are the most Dauntless of us all" he says and I blush. I had no clue that what we did had such a big impact on how people saw us.

"Thank you, Dwayne" I say.

"You're welcome Tris. So, how can I help you?" he asks.

"I'm sure you heard the announcement" Tobias asks and Dwayne nods "I need help to coordinate a search party as well as making sure Dauntless is secure."

"I understand."

Before Tobias can continue someone else knocks on the door. I go and open it to find Will and a horde of ready to fight Dauntless waiting to go out and search for the escapee. We decide to step outside of the office since not everyone could make it in. Tobias lays out his plan to search the city for Eric. Like the first time we went out to look for the escaped former leaders we divide into groups. A smaller group remains in Dauntless to coordinate with the Dauntless that stay behind to guard and defend the compound, while the rest divide into several smaller groups. Tobias tells us that Jack Kang, one of the Candor leaders, alerted the rest of the city, so they won't be surprised if we knock on their doors in search for Eric.

"You think he might be in Erudite?" Will asks.

"Would be foolish. That's the first place we would search" Tobias says. "Nevertheless, Erudite will be searched as well."

"He is still recovering from his injury" I say "he couldn't have gone far. In case he dares coming back here we need people to guard certain places, like his old apartment, which should be searched first, his office, the training room, since it holds weapons." They nod and I continue. "Also, we need to send patrols around the compound, both inside and outside."

"We have patrols" Tobias says.

"Yes, but make their patrolling areas and times random. Eric has been a leader for two years now, even if he wouldn't have paid close attention to the patrolling pattern chances are he knows them and is most likely able to avoid detection" I explain.

"Makes sense" Tobias agrees. "Mr. Writhe, good to see you here. You know Dauntless better than anyone." Mr. Writhe nods. "We need you to coordinate with Zeke and the patrols here in Dauntless to determine the most likely places he could be hiding." Mr. Writhe nods and leaves probably to go find Zeke in the control room. The rest of us divide into groups and head out to search for Eric.

The search has been going on for almost four hours and we still had no sign of finding him. The team we send to Erudite searched the faction twice, with some Erudite assistance, but was unlucky. The team in Amity also reported no sighting. During our search we called Jack to see if the Candor guards had any luck. We searched Abnegation but had no luck either. It seemed like he vanished. Tobias suggested that we searched the factionless sector. Even though Eric wouldn't have sat a foot there under normal circumstances, the fact that we weren't able to find him until now makes me assume he would hide out in the last place we would look.

We all walk toward the factionless sector and momentarily I wonder if I will meet Tobias's mother. We approach the sector and Tobias divides us in smaller teams. We use walkie-talkies to keep in touch while searching the area. We enter a tall, dark building that resembles very much a warehouse. This place is creeping me out. I feel like someone's watching my every move, waiting to attack me.

"I have a bad feeling about this" I say and Tobias looks at me curiously.

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just do."

"Don't worry. I'm here. Everything is going to be alright. It's just the unknown space that makes you uneasy" he tries to comfort me.

"Maybe. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you feel uneasy? Or were you here before?" I ask.

"I wasn't. But I'm trying to keep my mind focused."

I try to do the same but I can't shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong here. And then I hear a gunshot. I look around to see where it came from, but it's dark and it echoed. The sound could have come from anywhere. Tobias throws me to the ground covering me with his body. I fully expect more gunshots, but nothing comes. What was that? If someone would have found Eric there should have been more gunshots. Or maybe it was Eric killing someone. I try to reach the back of Tobias's pants where he keeps his walkie-talkie. He shifts a little allowing me to take it out and use it.

"Who took the shot?" I ask. Several teams reply "Not us" or "Not me". But then I hear "It was me". It's Peter. "Where are you?" I ask. He doesn't say anything for a while.

"Not sure" he answers.

"What happened?"

"Eric appeared and I shot. I think he's dead" Peter says sounding not like himself.

"Is there anyone near you, can you see anyone?" I ask.

"I'm here" I hear Will say. Will gives us indications how to get there and practically run toward the shooting side. When we get there Will kneels in front of the motionless body searching for some sign of life, but I can already tell Eric's dead. A part of me feels bad, a very small part. Tobias calls Jack and asks him to call everyone else. He then makes a call to the hospital asking for a coroner to come and verify Eric's death and transport his body to the city morgue.

A team waits outside, near the road to lead the coroner to where the body is. Meanwhile, Dwayne took the gun from Peter and escorted him to get some fresh air. I've never seen him so pale in my life. He doesn't seem at all like the guy who stabbed a fellow initiate in the eye or tried to kill me. He looks terrified. I wonder if he regrets his actions.

I decide to follow Dwayne outside and get some fresh air myself. I tell Tobias not to worry and give him a little kiss. On my way out I pass the coroner and tell him where to find the others. Outside I see Dwayne talking to Peter and decide to listen what Peter has to say.

"I didn't mean to" Peter says in the most pitiful voice I've ever heard.

"It's alright, boy. He attacked you. You had to defend yourself" Dwayne says compassionately. Peter looks up at him and his facial expression changes slightly.

"Yes, yes, he attacked me. That's right. I had to shoot him. He would have shot me" Peter says a little to enthusiastically.

"Peter" I say and he looks at me "are you alright?" I try to sound concerned.

"What do you care, Stiff?" he asks spitting.

"Watch your tongue, boy. Tris is your leader and I will not allow you to be disrespectful" Dwayne growls and Peter shrinks back. Huh, having a big guy around me has its advantages.

"It's alright, Dwayne, I'm used to his comments. They don't bother me" I say in a calm voice which makes Dwayne relax a little. "So, Peter, you didn't answer my question. How are you? You just killed a person."

"I don't know" he says.

"Alright" I say and turn to look at Dwayne. I make a sign with my head indicating I need to talk to him without Peter hearing us.

"Could you please keep an eye on him?" I ask.

"Sure, no problem" he says and I return inside in search for Tobias. I walk through the dark hall and feel watched again. I look around trying to make something out, but it's so dark I barely see where I'm stepping. When I hear footsteps behind me I turn around to see who it is, but there's no one there. Maybe I've just imagined it. But it seemed so real. I decide to hurry back to where Tobias is. I get there in no time, just as the coroner closes the body bag and puts Eric's lifeless body on a gurney to be transported outside where the ambulance waits.

"Hey, you came back" Tobias says wrapping me in his arms.

"Yeah, I can't wait to get home. Do we need to go somewhere?" I ask hoping we don't.

"No, let's go home. Everyone knows what happened here. Where's Peter?"

"Outside with Dwayne. I asked him to keep an eye on him" I say while we walk out hand in hand.

"Good. The way things went down don't seem right" Tobias says furrowing his eyebrows.

"I know. I got that same impression. Let's talk about it when we get home" I say and he only nods in agreement.

We all walk back home most of those in our group talking about the events of tonight, while Tobias and I remain quiet. On our way out Tobias asked Dwayne to keep a close watch on Peter. When we finally reach the compound Tobias and I go to his office and close the door.

"What do you think?" he asks me.

"I think Peter didn't plan on killing Eric" I say.

"How can you be sure?" he asks.

"Well, I can't. But he was really distraught about it. So to speak."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know for sure. I saw him read something the other day not paying attention to anything or anyone. He seemed far away. I shrugged it off cause it's Peter and I don't give a crap about him, but it must have been really important to him."

"Maybe Eric send him a note?" Tobias suggests.

"How and more importantly why?" I ask raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Eric favored Peter during initiation. Maybe Peter helped him escape."

"Maybe. There's only one way to find out."

"Truth serum" Tobias says and I nod. "I'm calling Jack and ask him to come here. Could you please call your dad and the other's. I know it's late, but if Peter is involved we need to interrogate him sooner rather than later."

"You're right. Let me make the call."

While I call my dad and ask him to come back to Dauntless with Jonah, Daniel and Michael, Tobias calls Jack and calls him over as well. He then asks Dwayne, who is still watching Peter to bring him to Tobias's office for questioning.

In record time Tobias's office is filled with people. I asked Dwayne to wait outside with Peter, making sure he doesn't run away.

"I'm sorry for calling you all so late, but it's important to get this done. As you already know one of the Dauntless members killed Eric tonight. We are here to establish the circumstances. I asked one of my trusted men to bring him here. He's currently outside unaware that we will administer truth serum." They all nod and Tobias goes to bring Peter inside. He reluctantly moves and Tobias needs to practically push him all the way to the chair where he will sit.

"In order to find out what happened tonight we will administer truth serum" Jack tells Peter.

"What? Why?" Peter asks panicked.

"If you haven't done anything wrong and it was self-defense you have nothing to fear" Daniel tells him.

Tobias pushes him down on the chair and keeps him in place while Jack administers the serum. Within a minute Jonah starts the interrogation.

"Please, state your name" he says.

"Peter Hayes" Peter answers with a grimace. I can tell he is more than pissed right now.

"Birth-faction?"

"Candor."

"What faction did you choose?" Jonah asks.

"Dauntless."

"Mr. Hayes, are you loyal to Dauntless?"

"Yes" he answers immediately. Huh, that kind of surprised me.

"Did you have anything to do with the conspiracy against Abnegation and the government?" We all remain quiet waiting for his answer.

"No."

"Did you have any knowledge whatsoever that the Dauntless leaders had anything to do with Jeanine Matthews?"

"Yes, but I only saw Jeanine with Max and Eric a couple of times. They never said anything to me."

"Did you have anything against Eric?"

"No."

"Did you kill him on purpose?"

"No."

"I think this answers our questions" Jonah says toward us.

"No. I have a couple" I say and they look at me curiously. "Anyone has any objection if I ask a few questions of my own?"

"No, please" Jack says, leaving no room for arguing for anyone else.

"Peter, you said you didn't kill Eric on purpose, right?" I ask.

"Yes, I already said that" he barks.

"Why did you shoot in the first place?"

"I was afraid for my own life."

"Interesting. Why?"

"I got a death threat" he says. This doesn't surprise me. I bet lots of people want to kill him. I know I want to. Sometimes.

"How?" I ask.

"I got a note" he answers.

"Did you receive it yesterday by any chance?" I ask and he looks at me stunned.

"Yes. How did you know?" he asks incredulous.

"I saw you reading something that obviously upset you. Who send it to you?"

"It was anonymous."

"Do you have many enemies?" I ask.

"A few."

"Pick a number" I say.

"What's this all about?" Jonah asks a little confused and pissed.

"I'm getting there" I say turning around to face him before looking back at Peter. "So, how many enemies do you have?"

"I don't know. Do you?" he spits.

"No, but I know you are my enemy. You tried to kill me, don't you?"

"Yes."

"With Drew's and Al's help?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you?"

"Four appeared and stopped us" he reluctantly answers.

"Why did you want to kill her?" Jack asks.

"She is a nosy know-it-all that got better in the rankings. There were only ten new memberships available and Eric suggested we should take care of the competition" he answers. I didn't know that Eric actually went so far as to suggest murder. What a son of a bitch! I see Tobias clenching his fists and I know he won't take it much longer before he punches Peter. I need to end this.

"Did you take care of someone else?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Who?"

"Edward."

"What did you do?"

"I stabbed him in the eye."

"Why?"

"He ranked first after stage one of training."

"Did you do it all on your own or did Eric suggest you do it?"

"He called me to his office telling me I would have a bright future here if I would make it through initiation. But to make it I needed to get rid of a few nuisances. He said he could make it happen that I get through stage two easier if there are fewer initiates after stage one."

"When you were in that abandoned building in the factionless sector and you heard a noise, did you know it was Eric?"

"No, I couldn't see anything. When he started coming toward me I shot and he fell down. I didn't know it was Eric."

"Do you regret killing Eric?"

"Yes."

"If the person in the shadows would have been someone else, let's say Edward, would you have shot him?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he threatened me."

"How? You said the note was anonymous."

"I understood the meaning of it" he says and it makes me curious.

"Do you have it on you?" I ask.

"Yes, my left pants pocket" he answers and Tobias takes the note out unfolding the paper. He looks at it and gives it to me.

"An eye for an eye" I read out loud. "Pretty obvious. So you thought it might have been Edward, since we were in the factionless sector and thanks to you Edward is now factionless. If it would have been Edward you would have shot him. Right?"

"Yes."

"Do you regret anything?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"Believing Eric's lies. He promised me so much but didn't keep any of it. I didn't really care about you. I wanted to have some fun and Drew was always the obedient tag along. Al was an idiot. But it was Eric who told us where to find you. He said that if we would play near the chasm accidents might happen and someone, you, might fall down."

"Why would Eric want me dead? I know I pissed him off a couple of times, but still."

"He wouldn't say at first, not directly, but he said you were important to his enemy and what would hurt his enemy more than killing the girl he likes."

"If you could do it all over again, initiation I mean, would you change anything in your behavior?"

"Yes. I really wanted to be Dauntless and I had no clue that there would be only a limited number of memberships. I didn't want to end up factionless."

"Alright. Thank you, Peter. Gentlemen, could we talk outside?" I ask and walk toward the door. I open it and ask Dwayne to wait inside with Peter. The rest follow me outside.

"He needs to be punished for his crimes" my dad says.

"I agree" Jack says.

"Me too. But I believe he deserves a second chance" I say surprising the others.

"What?" my dad and Tobias say at the same time.

"Tris, he wanted to kill you" Tobias says loudly.

"I'm aware of that, Four, I was there" I say angry at him.

"Beatrice, he needs to be punished."

"And he will. Jack, I need your help with this. Peter needs to be punished according with his crimes and for that I need to know the law in these cases."

"I would have to check. There's a whole list of charges – assault, attempted murder. And if he is found guilty for Eric's death he will be injected with death serum" Jack explains.

"I understand. I don't like Peter and I wish he would rot in hell. But after his interrogation I'm aware that Eric and the other former leaders are to blame too. He might be a bully, but he would have never gotten so far to do the things he did if it wouldn't have been for Eric's bad influence. He was practically encouraged. Could you please take care of this matter, Jack?" He nods. "I can ask Dwayne to escort Peter to the Dauntless holding cell in Candor. I don't want him here. Could you keep me up to date?"

"Of course" he says and I walk inside asking Dwayne if he could take Peter to Candor. He immediately agrees and the three of them leave Dauntless.

"You are to good" Daniel says.

"Huh?" I ask surprised.

"I said you are to good" he repeats.

"No, I'm not. But I'm a leader now and part of my duties is to be fair no matter if I like it or not. He will be punished according to the law and I wanted him in Candor to not give anyone the opportunity to say that the leaders are biased against him. He will be tried in Candor and we will only participate as representatives of Dauntless. This way his lawyer can't argue revenge" I explain and they look at me like I've said something wrong or stupid. "What?"

"I think your Erudite is showing" Tobias says.

"Well, it's true. We need to detach ourselves from him, Four. We can't be involved more than we already are."

"I think it was a wise decision, Tris" Michael says.

"Thank you. It's late gentlemen. Is it possible to start tomorrow after lunch, say one p.m.?" I ask and they agree. Tobias offers to take them back to Abnegation and this time I go with them. Jonah, Michael and Daniel sit in the back of the SUV, while I sit in the front between my dad and Tobias. It's a bit crowded, but we manage to drive safely to Abnegation. We leave everyone at their respective house before dropping of my dad. My mom comes outside when she hears the car stop and I get out to hug her. She invites us in, but we refuse politely. It has been an extremely long day and all I want is to sleep. We say goodbye and drive back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What do you think of Tris's decision to give Peter a second chance?
> 
> How will he be punished?
> 
> Was there someone watching Tris in the factionless sector or was it just a figment of her imagination?
> 
> Reviews are as always very welcomed!
> 
> Yours
> 
> Cloakseeker


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Fluff and smut ahead! :D

19

I wake up the next morning after nine a.m. Tobias is still fast asleep and I can't blame him. It was an awful long day yesterday and I wish I could just stay home today. But duty calls. I get out of bed and walk into the bathroom. I look myself in the mirror and barely recognize the person I'm seeing. I look awful. I decide to take a shower to wash away the events of yesterday evening and night.

I step inside the shower cabin and turn on the water. I step under the warm spray of water and let it run down my body. Suddenly I feel a current of cold air hit my warm skin and I turn around to find Tobias standing naked in front of me.

"You broke your promise" he says seriously. What? What is he talking about? "You said you would wake me with a kiss every morning for the rest of our lives" he says before kissing me.

"I'm sorry" I say after we part "but you looked so peaceful and I know you must be tired. I know I am."

"I might forgive you if I get my promised breakfast" he says with a sexy grin.

"Oh, that could be arranged" I say pulling his lips to mine. We kiss passionately for a while before he takes a hold of my thighs and picks me up. I automatically wrap my legs around his waist and hold him closer to me. He turns us around and presses my back into the cold tile wall sending a shiver through me. He inserts one finger into my womanhood to test my readiness. When he's satisfied that I'm wet enough he places his rock hard member at my entrance and buries himself deep inside of me. I gasp at the new sensation and try to get accustomed to the fullness. When I'm ready he starts lifting me slowly until he almost slips out before letting me glide down his shaft. He repeats this motion a few times before he picks up the speed. When I get too heavy he presses me more into the wall pounding into my depths at a frenzied speed. I can feel my orgasm approaching and kiss him with all the love and want I feel in this moment. When he reaches between our joined bodies and rubs my sensitive clit I feel a powerful wave of pleasure wash over me and for a moment I'm gone. I'm still riding out my own orgasm when I feel him getting bigger before he unloads his love deep inside me. We stay like this, joined and in each other's arms for a few more moments before he slips out and puts me back on my feet.

"I think I found a perfect coffee replacement" I say and he laughs.

"Yeah, but we should keep it to ourselves" he says kissing my lips again.

"Good morning, honey" I say when we part.

"Good morning, love" he replies resting his forehead on mine. "We should wash up and eat something."

We take our time washing each other and almost have a repeat of our amorous activities when Tobias's stomach growls loudly. We laugh and get out of the shower. We put on some fresh clothes and head downstairs to eat some breakfast. I decide to make some omelettes and bacon and put out some tomatoes and some salted cheese. Tobias decides to make some coffee and pours me a mug just as I finish making breakfast. We sit down at the island and eat our meal in record time. I had no idea that sex would make me so hungry. I haven't really paid attention before, but now I see it. We practically licked our plates clean. Tobias puts everything in the dishwasher and we go downstairs to his office.

It's past ten a.m. and Tobias announces over the intercom that the interrogations will be resumed after lunch at one p.m. He also officially tells the faction that Eric died yesterday. After he's done with the announcements he sits next to me on the couch and we cuddle for a while. I know we should start working, but I can get myself to do anything. I need to feel him close to me.

"Do you think I'm weak?" I ask him after a while.

"No, why?" he asks confused.

"For not being harsher to Peter" I say.

"I was a little surprised yesterday. You are definitely a better person than I am. But I understand it. We cannot live and lead with revenge on our minds, but that doesn't mean that we won't enforce the law. I think you did the right thing sending Peter to Candor."

"Thank you" I say and kiss his cheek.

"We should get some work done before lunch, don't you think?" he asks, but doesn't move from his spot.

"Yeah, we should. I thought about the office thing" I say.

"What office thing?"

"You said I need one, remember?"

"Ah, right. But I didn't mean that you bother me."

"I know, I was just teasing. I think I'll keep Eric's old office. It's right next to yours and if I need something from in here I don't have to walk much."

"What could you possibly need that isn't in your office?" he asks smirking. Oh, two can play that game.

"I don't know. Some files" I say pointing toward the file cabinets "they are all in here. I might need some from time to time."

"Is that all?" he says with a small pout. I start playing with his curls with my right hand and put my left index finger over my lips while pretending to think of something.

"Hm, I can't think of anything right now" I say as innocently as I can. "Can you?"

"Yes, I can actually" he says before turning me around and pressing my back in his lap while kissing me thoroughly. We stay like this for a while before we are rudely interrupted by a knock on the door. I sit back up while Tobias goes and opens the door, however not before growling something under his breath about smacking someone silly. I have to giggle. He opens the door and Christina stands in the door.

"Chris? Hey. Is something wrong?" I ask.

"No. But you said I should come here at eleven a.m. so here I am" she says. Right, I told her to come here to give her the keys to my apartment.

"I'm sorry. Didn't you here the announcement?" I ask her.

"Yeah, but I thought maybe they came anyway" she answers.

"Is this some secret girl code?" Tobias asks raising an eyebrow.

"No, honey. I asked Christina yesterday to come here around eleven to give her the keys to our apartment. I thought it would be nice to eat what the cafeteria had to offer, only at home. I thought we would eat with the council members today as well."

"Okay. Do you guys need some alone time?" he asks.

"Do you need to go somewhere?" I ask.

"I wanted to check something with Zeke. It shouldn't take long. If I'm not back in time for lunch we'll meet in the cafeteria" he says.

"Alright." He comes over and kisses me quickly before leaving.

"It's so odd seeing Four being so nice" Christina says after Tobias leaves the room.

"I know, but I got used to it. So what's new with you?" I ask her.

"Will and I are moving in together" she says happily.

"Really? That's great."

"Yeah, he told me last night. He said he wanted to say something for a while but was afraid of my reaction. But after everything that's been going down yesterday he decided he couldn't wait anymore" she tells me.

"I'm so happy for you guys" I say hugging her.

"What happened yesterday anyway? I mean I know the main events, but the in between-parts I'm more interested in."

"Well, as you know we've been looking for Eric for hours before we decided to give the factionless sector a shot. We went there and divided into several groups. We suddenly heard a shot and then Peter said he found or actually shot Eric. When we got there Eric was already dead. We called the coroner and Jack Kang to tell him about what happened. After the coroner took Eric's body away we came back here and called the council members that conduct the Dauntless interrogations as well as Jack Kang. We decided to interrogate Peter yesterday."

"Wow. What did you find out?" she asks curiously.

"The stunts he pulled during initiation including stabbing Edward and kidnapping and trying to kill me weren't entirely his own. He was pushed by Eric. Of course, that doesn't absolve him from guilt, but offers a better picture of the situation as a whole. We put him under arrest and I asked Jack to take him to Candor."

"That's heavy!"

"Yeah. I can't wait for this to be over. Today are the executions. Do you have any idea when?" I ask her.

"I think five-ish p.m."

"Are you going?" I ask her.

"No. Are you?"

"Not if I don't have to. I've already seen enough dead bodies already."

"I guess you're right. How are things between you and Four?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he freaked out yesterday. I've never seen him like this."

"Yeah, me neither actually. He was worried. When he found out about Eric he tried to call me but I had forgotten my phone in the office. We actually had a little fight" I say and Christina's eyes widen.

"Really? Why?"

"He wanted me to stay behind in Dauntless, do nothing while he and others risked their lives to catch Eric. I told him I wouldn't stay, we got loud, but then…" I stop talking because I don't want to tell her what happened next.

"Then what?" she asks. Damn.

"We realized we couldn't control each other" I say hoping she would accept my explanation.

"You made out" she says smirking. Damn it. Why would she take my explanation?

"Yeah" I say hanging my head in defeat.

"Oh come on, Tris. It's not bad. He really loves you, if he was that worried about you."

"Yes, he does. And so do I. Chris, I would die for him" I solemnly say.

"Wow, you guys take love to a whole new level" she says sounding not like her usual self.

"Chris, what's up?" I ask her concerned.

"I don't know. I kept thinking about Will and me. We love each other sure, but are we really in love?" she asks. "How did you know? I mean that you love Four."

"I just knew. But when Eric almost shot him the first time he escaped and I believed that I had lost him I felt like my whole world was falling apart. That day I was concerned about my parents and my brother, but when I thought he got hit and he would die I felt like dying myself. I felt like nothing could keep me in this life without him. I know that we had ups and downs and there will be even more to come from now on, but we promised to always tell each other the truth no matter what."

"Wow. You guys sure went through a lot" she says. I only nod.

"Do you love Will?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Can you imagine how life would be without him?" She stays quiet for a while than tears gather in her eyes.

"It would be awful."

"What's the first thing you think of when you get up in the morning?"

"Will."

"And the last one before you go to bed?"

"Will."

"When there's only one more slice of cake left would you eat it or share it with him?"

"Share, unless Uriah gets it first" she jokes. We both laugh.

"When you made love the first time where you scared?"

"A little."

"But did you trust him to make sure you are comfortable?"

"Yes."

"Do you regret giving yourself to him?"

"No!" she says vehemently.

"There you have it. It's everything that makes the two of you who you are together. The smallest things tell you if you love someone or not. I've seen it in my parents over the years. In Abnegation it's not allowed or customary to show that much emotion like it is here in Dauntless, but they made each other happy with the little things. For instance when I'm sad or just need comforting Four rubs my back to calm my nerves. Whenever there's something that's bothering him I remain quiet until he speaks up, but I make sure to be in the same room with him or just hold him. I think of what he might want and do it. But most importantly I think you know that you love someone if you think of that other person before yourself. I know it sounds a lot like Abnegation rules, but true love is selfless. And at the same time it's the most selfish thing in the world. I mean it when I say I would take a bullet for him. I can't stand the thought of him being hurt in any way. I would do anything to take any pain away from him."

"That sounds pretty much selfless. How can it also be selfish?" Christina asks furrowing her eyebrows.

"Because I can't imagine life without him. I will never love anyone else, I know that for sure. So, you see Chris, I would rather die than live without him" I say tears running down my cheeks.

"And I would die rather than live without you" Tobias says from the door. I look up and see his face through my teary eyes. He takes two big steps toward the couch and kneels down in front of me, wiping my tears away and kissing my lips. "Please, don't cry, love" he says before wrapping me in his arms.

"I'll leave you guys alone" I hear Christina say before I hear the door close.

"Hey, what's wrong, sweetheart?" he asks concerned. He must think I've gone nuts.

"It's just everything we've been through… we could have lost each other. I don't ever want to lose you, Tobias. I love you so much that it takes my breath away to even think not having you in my life."

"I love you too, sweetheart. And I promise you I will always do everything to make it back to you. But you have to promise me the same thing. No matter what life throws at us we will always get back to one another."

"I promise."

"You and me…" he starts saying.

"Against the world" I finish. He pulls away a little and kisses me gently and full of love. We are both breathless when we part and stay a little while longer cuddled up on the couch.

After I've calmed down enough to face the world we get up and walk hand in hand to the cafeteria to eat our lunch. We sit at our regular table with our friends who are talking about the events of last night. I know they expect us to say something by the way they keep glancing toward us but I'm not in the mood to talk. After we finish our lunch we return to Tobias's office and lock ourselves in until it's time for the council members to arrive. We have roughly a half hour left and decide to just sit on the couch talking about us and what our plans for the future are.

"I can't wait for Saturday to come. I've missed eating lunch with my parents" I say a little excited.

"I can't wait either. I never really had a real family meal. Even when I was little and Evelyn was still around it was always tensed and uncomfortable" he says a little sad.

"Don't think that my family meals were all laughs and chit-chat. We were living in Abnegation for crying out loud" I say trying to cheer him up. He laughs a little.

"Promise me when we have kids that we will have happy family meals, with talking about our days and laughter" he says and it melts my heart that he thinks of starting a family with me.

"I promise" I say before turning serious. "Tobias?"

"Yes, love."

"Have you thought much about the future, about us?"

"Yes, I have actually. I meant every word when I told your father that I wanted to marry you and have a family with you. I know we are far from ready and to be honest I don't want to share you with anyone right now, even if it would be a little Tobias jr." he says and I smile at him. That would be wonderful, a little boy that looks just like his father. But he's right, we are too young to have children already.

"I know what you mean. We are still young and there's so much I want to do before becoming a mother. And don't think I want to share you either. I want us to enjoy our time together as much as possible. We don't have to rush things" I say smiling.

"So you want to make babies with me?" he asks smirking.

"Yes, at some point."

"How many?"

"I don't know. Two maybe three. How about you?"

"Ten" he says seriously.

"What?" I ask incredulous.

"I'm kidding. But I would like a big family" he says.

"How about we start with one and then see how things work out?" I ask and he agrees.

We start kissing each other and forget all around us. He pulls me closer and I straddle his lap. We start exploring each other's body through the fabric, getting more aroused by the minute. We are pulled out of our own little world when we hear a knock on the door. I get off of him and he tries to straighten up, but the bulge in his pants makes this situation a little embarrassing. He quickly goes behind his desk trying to calm himself down, while I walk as slowly as possible toward the door. I'm not surprised to find my dad and the other councilmen outside waiting to be let in.

"Hey dad" I say and hug him.

"Hello, sweetheart. How are you today?" he asks.

"I'm fine. A little tired after what happened yesterday, but at least I got some rest. Please come in, all of you."

I let them enter and ask if someone wants something to drink. They all ask for tea and I make some, including for Tobias and myself. Daniel, Michael and Jonah sit down on the couch, while my dad sits on the armchair. Tobias brings two chairs next to my dad and we all sit and drink our tea. We talk about little things before the first Dauntless appear to be interrogated. I kiss Tobias and walk to my new office that needs some serious remodeling with Daniel and Michael.

For the next five hours we interrogate as many Dauntless as possible. When we near the last twenty vials I step outside and count the remaining Dauntless there. Dwayne offered to help us keep things quiet and both Tobias and I appreciate it very much. The Dauntless are good people, but loud. Christina, Lynn, Marlene and Shauna also offered to help by checking who was interrogated and who still needs to be interrogated. I count forty seven. I hope Tobias has some vials left. I knock on the door and poke my head inside. The moment Tobias sees me he smiles a little and comes to me. After closing the door behind him he wraps me in his arms and kisses me, effectively taking my breath away. When we part he looks deep into my eyes and I feel heat rising inside me. It takes me a moment to remember why I called him out in the first place.

"How many vials do you have left?" I ask startling him.

"Huh?"

"Truth serum. How many vials?" I ask again smiling.

"I need to check. Is this the only reason you came?" he asks so that only I can hear him while putting on a little pouty face. I chuckle and kiss his lips softly.

"Of course not. I've missed you terribly" I say in a whiny voice.

"Me too. I can't wait to get home and have my way with you, young lady" he says in a husky voice now. We need to stop while we can. I put my right hand over his heart and feel it beating really fast. I'm sure mine is beating as fast as his right now. I shake my head no and he furrows his eyebrows.

"You can do what you want later, but right now I need you to behave" his expression lightens a little.

"I thought you didn't want me anymore" he says.

"That will never happen, honey. I'll always want you and you alone" I say before kissing him again.

"Get a room" we hear Uriah yell from the other side of the hallway. Tobias turns around and glares at him.

"I better go check on those vials" he says before entering his office again. He returns a moment later. "We have thirty left" he says.

"Alright. I counted forty seven Dauntless to yet be interrogated. I say we finish this today and finally start our new life here." He nods his head in agreement and returns to his office while I go to mine.

It takes us another three hours to finish, but when we are done we all sigh in relief. Tobias drives my dad and the other three councilmen back home, while I go back home and make some supper for the two of us. Before I leave however I thank everyone that helped us several times until Shauna practically kicks my ass home. I'm really lucky to have such good friends. Tobias and I both are.

I decide to make some salami pizza, since I have no clue what else to make right now. I asked Christina to check the cafeteria for some Dauntless cake and bring me two slices. I just put the pizza in the oven when I hear a knock on my door. I open it and find Chris with four slices instead of two. I thank her and invite her in, but she declines. My guess she wants some alone time with her boyfriend, which I absolutely understand. By the time Tobias gets home the pizza is almost done. He sits down at the island looking pale and angry. I wait a little for him to tell me, but when he remains silent even after five whole minutes since sitting down I can't take it anymore.

"Honey" I say with caution "Are you okay?"

"What?" he says, acknowledging my presence for the first time. "I'm sorry, love, I was just thinking."

"About?" I inquire.

"My father" he says and surprises me. I never would have thought to hear him say that.

"May I ask why?"

"I saw him in Abnegation."

"Did you talk to him?"

"No. I was just dropping of your dad, when he came out of his house. He looked at me but I drove away. Not very Dauntless of me" he says with a bitter laugh.

"Honey, that had nothing to do with being Dauntless. I know what it means to you seeing your father. I would have done the same thing if I would have been in your shoes" I say wrapping my arms around his neck. He holds me close to him and I rub my right hand up and down his back while the left one plays with his curls.

"Sweetie?"

"Yes?"

"Something's burning" he says and I remember the pizza.

"Oh shit. I forgot the pizza." I let go of him and open the oven and pull the pizza out. I put it on the stove and Tobias goes and opens the balcony door to let some fresh air inside.

"Huh, your dad was right. You are a terrible cook" he says laughing. At least he smiles again.

"Hey, that's not entirely my fault" I say offended.

"Come here" he kisses my forehead and checks to see if we can salvage our dinner. Fortunately only a little bit got burned and the rest is just a tad crispy. We eat it and wash up afterwards. Tobias walks outside on the balcony and I go and get a slice of Dauntless cake and two spoons. I surprise him on the balcony and his eyes lighten up when he sees the chocolate dessert.

"How?" he asks.

"I asked Chris to bring some."

"It's delicious" he says. He grabs a bit of cake and rubs it on my face.

"Hey" I say.

"You have something on your face. Let me help you clean up" he says and kisses the delicious treat off of me. Two can play this game. I take some cake in my hand and try to smear it over his face but he ducks and avoids getting any of it on him. I try several times before he grabs me from behind hitting my own hand over my face. So much for sweet revenge.

"Oh, Tobias, not fair" I whine but by the time I turn around he already ran inside. I follow him, leaving the plate with the cake on the island. I run upstairs where he probably is hiding in our bedroom. I enter the room but Tobias is nowhere to be seen. I decide to look in the bathroom, but the light is off. When I turn around Tobias wraps his arms around my waist crashing his lips over mine. We kiss hungrily until we both can't breathe anymore. When he pulls back half of the cake that was on my face is now on his.

"You have something on your face. Let me help you clean up" I say, mimicking his move. I kiss the cake of his face, occasionally licking. This little game soon turns into a frenzied battle for dominance and we practically rip each other's clothes of. We are now standing completely naked in front of each other and I'm mesmerized by this perfect man I can call my own.

He cups my face and places a gentle kiss on my lips. When we part he picks me up and carries me to our bed and lays me down. He covers my body with his and starts kissing every inch of my naked skin sending electricity bolts straight to my core. We take our time exploring each other like it's the first time before he finally positions himself at my entrance and buries himself deep inside me. We both moan loudly at the intimate contact and start rocking back and forth in perfect unison. When we're both nearing the unmistakable edge of pure bliss Tobias increases the pace and I feel the familiar heat wave rush over me. I'm still recovering from my orgasm when Tobias climaxes and collapses on top of me. I love it when he lies on top of me. I barely feel his weight in these moments. I wrap my arms around him and whisper "I love you" in his ear. He kisses my cheek and whispers "I love you" in mine.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize for updating only now. It should have been yesterday, but I had troubles connecting to the server. I tried all day yesterday and nothing.  
> I hope you enjoy FourTris's journey from here on even more.

20

I'm running around like a lunatic through my apartment looking for my keys. Tobias sits at the island sipping his coffee watching me amused.

"What's so funny?" I ask angry.

"Right now? You" he says with a chuckle.

"Stop grinning and help me find my keys. I'm going to be late" I shout from the living area where I'm currently looking over the couch and coffee table for my keys.

"Uhm, honey" he says smiling even though I'm not looking at him. "If you would look at me you would see what you've been looking for" he says. I look up and he swirls my keys on his index finger around.

"Ugh, Tobias, why didn't you tell me?" I ask angry.

"I told you a dozen times to put your keys in the bowl we've got right next to the entrance door. It was your idea after all to avoid situations like this one" he explains.

"Stop lecturing me and give me my keys. I'm not in a good mood today" I say trying to get my keys, but he holds his arm up so that I can't reach.

"Nah-ah. If you want them you need to give me something in return" he says playful.

"Like what?" I ask, although I know full well what he wants.

"How about a kiss, right here" he says pointing at his full lips.

"How about my foot in your ass?" I bark. He looks at me with a raised eyebrow and I sigh. "I'm sorry" I stand on my tip-toes and kiss him gently.

"Here" he gives me back my keys. He kisses my cheek and hands me my travel mug with coffee.

"I can't jump the train with this" I say, not understanding why he would hand me the hot beverage.

"I'll drive you, honey. You won't make it in time to the Hub if you take the train" he says.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't have anything urgent to do this morning" he answers while locking the door behind us.

"Tobias, you know what I meant."

"Yeah, I do. I'm just dropping you off. I'm not gonna get out of the car."

"Alright."

We walk hand in hand to the garage and get into the car. We barely drive out of the compound when I turn to look at him.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's not your fault I misplaced my keys. I should have put them in the bowl last night" I say apologetically.

"Don't worry. Besides you were distracted last night" he says grinning.

"Still, it's not fair to you. I hate these meetings. Even if the council listens to me and I can see in their eyes they approve what I'm saying, the moment Marcus stands up he gives some archaic speech and they are all on his side again" I say throwing my hands up exasperatedly.

"Calm down, honey. Don't let him upset you. I'm sure you will find a way to convince them that you only have the city's best interest at heart."

"I hope so. For the past two months I've felt like talking to walls and fighting wind mills."

"Maybe you should approach the problem differently" he suggests.

"How?"

"Well you said Jack is a member of the council and he is the representative of Candor. What is his opinion? Would he support you?"

"I guess so. I would have to talk to him and present him my plan without being interrupted by some retort from your father. I think he hates me" I say looking out the window.

"Did he say something to you?" Tobias inquires.

"No. It's not what he said, although sometimes he does say I'm still young and don't understand how things go. It's mostly how he says things, like I'm there by mistake. That I'm a silly little girl that needs to shut up when the grownups talk. But that's not even it."

"Tell me."

"Sometimes I do feel like I don't belong there. That it's a huge mistake" I sigh in defeat.

"Now listen to me, Beatrice. You belong there. You are a citizen of this city and you have every right to speak up. You are a member of the council and you are entitled to present plans to improve everyone's life here. You are a Dauntless leader because an entire faction chose you. But more importantly you are mine and if he ever dares to be disrespectful I'll beat him silly" he says angry.

"Whoa there tiger. First of all thank you" I say and bend over and place a kiss on his cheek "second I need to be more aggressive about my approach with the council. I have to stand up and not let him or anyone else ridicule me or my ideas. Third I'll ignore the macho remark and just agree with you. I am yours. But there's no beating involved. I don't need and want you to fight my battles. You taught me well during initiation, but now I need to take the battle to a whole new arena. I'll figure it out. I'm Dauntless after all."

"That's my girl" he says proudly.

"I love you, Tobias" I say turning to look at him.

"I love you too, Tris."

We are soon pulling in front of the Hub and I give Tobias a long passionate kiss that leaves us both breathless.

"You want me to pick you up?" he asks.

"No, I don't know how long it'll take this time. I swear sometimes I think Marcus disagrees with the council only to keep us here all day. I have to go, honey. Have a nice day."

"You too, sweetie. Come by at my office when you come back" he says and pulls me in for another kiss.

I get out of the car and walk inside the Hub where I find my dad, Jonah, Daniel and Michael. They are currently talking to the Amity representative Johanna Reyes. I walk over to them and greet them.

"Good morning everybody" I say. They turn to look at me and I can see they don't agree with me. "What is it? What's going on?"

"Tris, something terrible happened" Johanna says.

"What?"

"Marcus was attacked this morning. He was supposed to get some files from Erudite this morning and then join us for the council meeting, but Samantha called to inform us that Marcus was attacked" my dad tells me.

"Oh God. By who?" I ask shocked.

"We don't know yet. According to those who witnessed the attack the assailant is male, tall and wears black clothes" Jonah says.

"Could they see his face?" I ask.

"No, he was wearing a mask" Daniel offers.

"What exactly did happen?" I inquire further.

"Whoever attacked Marcus had a gun" Jonah says. "He shot Marcus three times in the chest."

"Where is he now?"

"They took him to the hospital" Johanna says.

"We were on our way there" my dad says. "You should go back to Dauntless."

"No, dad. I want to come with you. I want to know more before I tell him" I whisper to my dad.

"Alright. Come on everybody, let's go."

We walk as fast as we can to the hospital. It's not far away anyway. I don't like Marcus but I don't wish him to die. I know Tobias says he hates his father, which is understandable, but I also know that on some level he cares for him. He is his father after all. I need to know more before telling him this.

We enter the hospital and are greeted by Samantha Daniels, the new Erudite leader, and Jack Kang. When Jack sees me he pulls me to the side.

"Tris, I need you to tell me where Four was this morning at eight thirty a.m." he says in a very serious voice.

"What?"

"Tris, please."

"He was with me. I was running late for my nine a.m. meeting with the council because I couldn't find my keys. We left Dauntless at around eight thirty five or maybe eight forty a.m. We can check the surveillance camera in the garage. Why are you asking me this?"

"Well because whoever attacked Marcus Eaton was wearing black and matches Four's description. Not many in the city know of Four's relation to Marcus Eaton, but as of this morning Four is a suspect." I'm completely shocked by what I'm hearing.

"What? You can't be serious. That's absurd. You know him" I say outraged. Over the past two months since Tobias and I became leaders he and I became good friends with Jack. We often invited him over to our place or he invited us to Candor. We have a lot in common, divergence and leadership being only two of those things.

"I know Tris, this is why I needed confirmation from you. There's no official statement out or any real lead to who might be behind this vicious attack, because that's what it is – vicious. Marcus was attacked in broad daylight with a gun. There aren't many people in the city who have access to weapons. The fact that the attacker wore black can't be a coincidence."

"I agree. But we need to find out who it was, because it wasn't Four."

"I believe you" he says squeezing my shoulder comfortingly. "Does Four know?"

"Not yet. I just found out when I got to the Hub. Four dropped me off but didn't get out of the car."

"Do you want me to give you a ride to Dauntless?" he asks.

"I want to know if there's anything new on Marcus's condition first, if that's okay?"

"Sure. Let's go to the others."

We return to the small group that gathered in the waiting room and ask if there are any news. My dad tells us that a nurse came back and told us that Marcus got lucky so far, no internal organs were seriously hit. But he lost a lot of blood and the surgery is far from over yet. I tell my dad that I'm going back home to tell Tobias and he should please keep me up to date about Marcus's condition. He agrees and we say goodbye.

On the ride back to Dauntless I don't say anything and Jack seems to understand my need to think things through. When we arrive I invite him in but he says he needs to get back to Candor to help with the investigation. I thank him again for dropping me off and head inside the compound. I sprint toward Tobias's office but stop abruptly in front of his door. What should I say? How can I tell him that his father is currently fighting for his life?

I take a deep breath before knocking on the door. I hear him say "come in" and I enter. The moment he sees me he smiles but then his expression changes.

"Honey, what's wrong? Why are you back? Did something happen to you?" he asks concerned.

"Tobias, I'm fine. Come, sit with me on the couch. There's something I need to tell you" I take his hand and drag him after me. We sit down and I take another deep breath. "When I got to the Hub my dad and the other council members just heard from Samantha Daniels that someone attacked your father" I say and look into his dark blue eyes. He looks at me in shock and maybe disbelief. I let the information sink in. "A man shot him in front of the Erudite headquarters three times in the chest. He is still in surgery. So far I only know that no vital organ was seriously damaged, but he did loose a lot of blood." I decide not to tell him that he's a suspect. After all I just had to tell him that his father got shot. He stands up and walks to his desk, his back turned to me. He grabs the chair in front of the desk and squeezes the backrest until his knuckles turn white. I see him hang his head and know he needs me. I get up and embrace him from behind resting my head on his back while I place my right hand over his heart. He immediately grabs my hand with his left and turns around in my arms. When he's finally facing me I see tears in his eyes.

"Oh baby, come here" I say and wrap my arms around his back pulling him close to me. He cries a little, not much, before he calms himself and we sit back down on the couch. I sit on the far end and make him lie down with his head in my lap while I play with his curls. I found that whenever he's upset this simple gesture calms him. We remain silent for a while before he speaks up again.

"I should go to the hospital" he says.

"Do you want to go?" I ask.

"Not really, but I should."

"No one would blame you if you didn't" I say, wanting to make sure he is really comfortable with it.

"I know, but I want to be there anyway. Will you come with me?" he asks looking up at me, new tears in his eyes.

"Of course, honey, I wouldn't stay back even if you would ask me" I say. He sits up so quickly and kisses me that I'm momentarily taken aback.

"Thank you, love. Let me wash my face and we can go" he says and walks out of the office to go to the bathroom. I take advantage of his absence to call Zeke.

"Hello?" he answers.

"Hi, Zeke. It's me" I say.

"Hi Tris. What can I do for you?"

"I need a copy of the surveillance footage in the garage. Specifically from this morning between seven a.m. and now."

"Sure. But why?"

"I can't explain it right now. Four and I are going to the hospital, Marcus Eaton was shot this morning" I decide to tell him. He will find out anyway and he knows that Marcus is Tobias's father.

"Don't worry. I'll get the footage."

"Call me when you have it. Thanks. And bye."

"No problem. Bye Tris."

The moment I hang up Tobias comes in. I don't know if he saw or heard me talking on the phone or not, but he is not saying anything. I get up and walk outside and Tobias locks his office. We go to the garage and get in the car. Tobias doesn't say anything the whole time and even though I want to know how he's doing he will talk to me eventually. He always does. He just needs time.

We soon arrive at the hospital and Tobias parks the car in the parking lot. We get out and walk into the hospital lobby. We ask if there are any news on Marcus Eaton and the front desk nurse tells us to wait in the waiting room of the second floor. We go up there and I see my parents sitting on one of the loveseats in the waiting room, surrounded by other council members. We greet everyone and take a seat next to my parents.

"Son, I'm so sorry" my dad says.

"How is he?" Tobias asks.

"His still in surgery. They haven't updated us in almost two hours" my dad explains.

"But that doesn't have to mean that something is not right" my mom tries to assure us.

"Of course not. As long as no one came out means they are still working on him, trying to save his life. The absence of news is not necessarily a sign of bad news" I say.

"I know, love. But I would still like to know" Tobias says and I understand. He has a terrible relationship with his father and yet here he is worried about him. I, on the other hand, have an excellent relationship with both my parents and I know I would go nuts if I were in his place. The only thing I can think of right now is to hold his hand and just be here for him.

We wait for another hour before the doctor finally comes and tells us the surgery was thankfully successful, but Marcus is still not out of the woods. He was taken to a private room and constantly monitored.

"Can we see him" Johanna asks.

"Only family for now" the doctor says.

"Go, if you want. I'll wait here for you" I whisper in Tobias's ear.

He goes over to the doctor and tells him he is Marcus's son. The doctor leads him toward his father's room and I sit back down with my parents. Suddenly my phone rings. I look at the caller ID and see Zeke's name. I immediately answer.

"Zeke?"

"Hey Tris. How's Marcus?" he asks.

"He made it through surgery and is now in a private room to recover there. Did you find what I was asking you for?"

"Yeah. I didn't call you sooner cause I figured you and Four don't need this stuff right now" he says.

"Don't worry. Thank you. Could you tell me at what time Four and I left this morning?"

"Eight forty two a.m., according to the surveillance camera."

"When did Four get back?" I ask.

"Let me check" he says and I hear him press a few keys. "Ten minutes past nine a.m. The copy also includes you guys leaving for the hospital."

"Thank you Zeke. I'll call you when we get back to Dauntless. Bye." I hang up and dial Jack's number. When he answers I get up and walk down the hall to avoid being heard.

"Hey Jack. Any update on the attacker?" I ask.

"None so far. Do you have the surveillance footage?" he asks.

"Yeah. I'll call you when I'm back home. I'm at the hospital right now with Four."

"I understand."

"Jack, are you going to interrogate Four?" I ask.

"I don't think so. Might be a good idea though. I mean we will have the surveillance footage and your testimony, but it wouldn't hurt to exclude him from the suspect list for good" he says. "Did you tell him?"

"No, I just had to tell him his father got shot and is currently fighting for his life. I'll tell him when we get back home. I'll call you afterwards, okay?"

"Sure. No problem."

I hang up and return to the waiting room. Tobias just comes back and looks pale. I walk over to him and hug him tightly. He holds me close to him and I know he is barely keeping it together. I excuse us and we walk back to the car, followed by my parents.

"We'll drive you home" Tobias says to them.

"No, sweetheart, you don't have to" my mom says and hugs him. Since Tobias's interrogation he and my parents got a lot closer. Both of them often call him "son" and I know he's happy about it. It's not like if his own parents would be like this with him, but I'm glad mine make such perfect substitutes.

"Please, Natalie, it's the least I can do" Tobias says smiling when my mom caresses his cheek.

"It's out of the question, son" my dad says sternly. "Natalie and I will stay here a while longer and then walk home. Don't worry about us. If we have any news we'll let you know."

"Thank you" Tobias says and hugs my dad. At first they only shook hands, but for the past month or so they upgraded to hugs, which makes me very happy. I'm really lucky that my parents and my boyfriend get along with each other.

We say good bye and drive back home. We decide to go straight home and call it a day. After parking the car Tobias takes my hand and we walk as fast as we can to our apartment. The moment we are inside, hidden from the world, Tobias sits down on the couch and silently cries. I sit next to him placing my right hand over his and rub his back with my left. When the tears finally subside he looks up at me and my heart breaks for him. I wish I could take his pain away, I wish I could do something to stop him from hurting. But I don't know what.

"Thank you" he says in a rough voice.

"For what, honey?" I ask him, unsure why he would thank me when I didn't do anything.

"For being here. It helps so much that you are here. You have no idea" he says before hugging me tightly. I let him, because it is what he needs right now.

"You don't have to thank me. I love you with all my heart and I would do anything for you. I just wish I could take this pain away from you" I say barely above a whisper.

"I know and I love you so much for it. I don't even know why this affects me so much. I should hate him, I shouldn't care if he lives or dies. But for some reason I do."

"I know, baby. Even though your dad is a son of a bitch he is still your father and you do care for him, because you are a good person. I think that's admirable and I'm so proud of you" I say while playing with his curls.

"I need to wash up" he says and gets up to go to the bathroom.

I walk into the kitchen and make him something to eat. I decide on grilled sandwiches since I'm not really in the mood for something fancy. When he comes out he sits down at the island and watches me prepare our meal.

"Do you need some help" he asks sounding a little more like his usual self.

"I could need some help with the dessert. Are you in the mood for some fruit salad?" I ask turning around to look at him.

"Sure. I'll make it" he says and starts working on it right next to me.

"You want some chamomile tea?" I ask.

"Yeah."

When everything's ready we sit down at the island and start eating. I really need to tell him about the fact that he is a suspect in his father's attack. But he finally calmed down and I don't want to disturb him further. I wait for him to finish his meal and look him in the eyes.

"Tobias, there's something I haven't told you yet" I say and he looks curiously at me. "The man who attacked your father was wearing black and according to eye witnesses matches your description. Tobias, you are a suspect" I say and his eyes widen in shock.

"What?" he asks standing up.

"Please, calm down. I already took care of it" I say in an attempt to calm him.

"What do you mean you took care of it?" he asks sounding a little angry.

"Would you please calm down and let me explain" I say a little loud, trying to make him hear that he was starting to shout. He sits back down on the island stools and stares at me just the way he did when he was only my instructor. "First of all, lose the Four-stare, I'm not your initiate anymore" this seems to have surprised him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" he says his look softening.

"You didn't scare me. So, back to my story. When I got to the hospital Jack pulled me aside and asked about your whereabouts this morning. I told him you were with me. You see, your dad was attacked at eight thirty and at that time you were right here on this same stool swirling my keys around your finger. I asked Zeke to make a copy of the surveillance footage in the garage and it clearly shows that you couldn't have done it. I already talked to Jack about it. The video footage and my testimony should be enough evidence to rule you out, but Jack thinks maybe if you would testify under truth serum no one would ever even raise a question regarding you" I finish telling him.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asks a little angry.

"Because I just told you your dad got shot. You had other things on your mind than this. Besides we are in this together and it wasn't something I couldn't handle."

"Still…" he tries to say something, but I interrupt him.

"Cut the crap, Tobias. What's up? Are you really mad I haven't told you about this ridiculous accusation? If there would have been any indication that you did this I would have told you. But there wasn't."

"Did you think I could have done it?" he asks.

"Of course not. I know you. I would bet my own life that you would never do something like that. I know you well enough to not doubt you" I say and he places his hands on both sides of my face and kisses me ferociously. When we part we both pant heavily, but he smiles.

"Thank you for believing in me" he says, emotion thick in his voice.

"There's no question. I'll always believe you. We promised each other to always tell the truth no matter what. Besides if you would have shot your dad you would have done a better job. And I would have helped you hide the body" I say and he laughs a little. "I know – stupid killer jokes not really my best."

"I love you."

"I love you too. You mind if I call Zeke over to bring me that copy?" He shakes his head no. "How about Jack?" Again he shakes his head and I dial Zeke's number. I tell him to bring me the copy and he assures me he will be here in ten minutes. I then call Jack and ask him to come over.

When I'm done I take two bowls and fill them with fruit salad and pour some tea in two mugs. Tobias helps me carry everything to the coffee table in the living room and we put a movie in. I decide on a comedy. We really need the distraction and a bit of laughter today. The first knock on our door announces Zeke and I let him come in. He hands me the DVD and I check it on my laptop that Tobias got me. I watch the video and see that there's no way Tobias could have done this.

I thank Zeke and he leaves us, understanding that both Tobias nor I are in the mood to entertain today. Tobias and I sit back down and continue to watch our movie when a second knock on our door makes me get up again. I'm not surprised to find Jack standing there. I invite him in and offer him tea and some fruit salad. He declines the salad but accepts the tea.

"I'm sorry for what you are going through, Four" he sincerely says.

"Thank you. I assure you, Jack, I had nothing to do with this" Tobias says.

"I know. I never doubted you. But it is my duty to thoroughly investigate every lead that might present itself."

"I understand and I thank you for being honest with me."

"Candor, remember?" Jack asks pointing toward himself. We all chuckle.

"Any new leads?" I ask.

"As I told you on the phone, so far nothing. Maybe after Marcus wakes up he can tell us something more. I guess it's futile to ask you two if you know if he has any enemies" Jack says.

"Pretty much" Tobias says.

"The video footage with our departure this morning" I say handing Jack the DVD.

"Thank you, Tris. This is really helpful. I need you both to come in and give your statements" he says.

"Today?" I ask not really wanting to leave my apartment at all for the rest of the day.

"No, tomorrow is fine. A regular testimony should be sufficient for now. If the need presents itself for a testimony under truth serum I will inform you."

"Thank you, Jack, I really appreciate this."

"Don't mention it."

"If you need any help with the investigation I can send an investigator to help you" Tobias offers.

"Thank you. I'll let you know. I'll be going now. Thanks for the tea, Tris" he says and we say goodbye. He leaves and I lock the door behind him.

I sit back down on the couch and cuddle into Tobias's side. He puts his arm around my shoulder and holds me close. I start the movie again and grab a bowl of fruit salad. I give Tobias a bite then take one myself until we finish it. I'm not really paying attention to the movie, I'm still thinking of the events of today. This morning I was so pissed that I had to see Marcus again and now I can't help but feel guilty for my childish behavior. I look up at Tobias and he has a distant look in his eyes. I decide to ask him what he is thinking about when he suddenly speaks.

"I think Evelyn is behind it" he says and I can't help but sit up straight and stare into his dark blue eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Is Tobias right? Is Evelyn behind the attack?
> 
> Will Marcus survive?
> 
> The answers ... in the upcoming chapters.


	21. Chapter 21

21

Evelyn? Behind Marcus's attack?

"Why do you think that?" I ask.

"She has enough reasons" Tobias says. "Why? You don't believe it?" he asks furrowing his eyebrows.

"Maybe. It's still too early to form an opinion. You cannot jump to conclusions ignoring the facts" I say.

"You sound like a Candor" Tobias says smiling.

"I guess all the time we've spend with Jack really did something to me. Not to mention my best friend is a Candor-transfer." We both laugh at that. "But seriously now. The person who attacked Marcus is male. Of course, she could have sent someone to do the dirty work for her. But let's face it, she had nine years to do it, either herself or with someone's help. Why now? But what really bothers me is the fact that this person wore black and resembles you. You said your mom wants to have a closer relationship with you, right?" He nods. "Unless she is a very good actress and lies to you about her feelings, than something seriously doesn't add up. If I where her and I would know that my son would be the prime suspect, why send someone that looks so much like him?" This leaves him thinking.

"Maybe she lied to me" Tobias says after a while.

"What?"

"Maybe you are right. Maybe she just pretended to care. Maybe she got pissed that I refused to come live factionless with her and this is her revenge" he says hanging his head.

"Tobias, I don't know her, but maybe you shouldn't think the worst of her. I never said she did lie about her feelings toward you. We should investigate first. Have you heard anything from her lately?" I ask.

"No. Ever since we became leaders she hasn't contacted me. I think it became clear to her that I wouldn't leave the faction. This is why I think she is behind it. And she wants to frame me" he says bitter.

"I'm not going to defend her, you know my opinion about her, but I think you are not thinking this through. Is there any way you could get a message to her and ask her to meet you?" I ask.

"I could. Why?"

"Ask her to meet you. Talk to her and ask her if she had anything to do. Tell her that because of this you are the prime suspect. I would like to see her reaction when you tell her."

"You want to meet my mother?" he asks incredulous.

"Not really. I was thinking more of hiding in a bush or a tree and watching you guys" I say with a smirk.

"In the mood for some spy game, are we?" he says with a chuckle.

"Sort of. But seriously now. You should confront her and I should come with you, only without being seen."

"How are you planning on staying hidden?" he asks.

"You could take the car to wherever you are meeting her. The windows in the back are blackened and you can't look inside. And if it's night then it's even better. I can crack the window enough to hear you talk, but remain unseen. If you think she's innocent I would like to meet her. Tell her that it's too late tonight and that you would like us to meet the next day or whenever."

"You really think this would work?" he asks raising an eyebrow.

"Sure. It's so crazy it just has to work" I say smiling.

"Have I ever told you that you are nuts?" he asks pulling me in his strong arms.

"Every time I have a brilliant idea" I say before we kiss.

"When do you want to do this?" he asks after we part.

"As soon as possible" I answer.

"Alright. I'll go and leave a message for her to meet me tonight at midnight near the Navy Pier."

"Want me to come with you?" I ask.

"No. I'll be right back. I love you" he says before kissing me and getting up.

"I love you too" I say after we part.

He leaves me sitting on the couch and I wonder if Evelyn Eaton could really be such a horrible person. Yeah, she left him as a child with Marcus, who was abusive, but she seemed to at least try to mend their relationship. Could she really be angry with Tobias for choosing to remain in Dauntless. A real mother should try everything for her child to be safe and happy. But then again where was her motherly love and care when she left him all those years ago. I'm so engrossed in my own thoughts that I don't even hear Tobias come in. He comes close to me and I jump up when he speaks. I let out a yell and startle him.

"Oh my God, Tobias. You scared the crap out of me" I say holding my right hand over my now racing heart.

"I'm sorry. I said I'm back but you didn't hear me" he says while sitting down next to me. He wraps me in his arms and runs his hand up and down my left arm. "What were you thinking of anyway?"

"Your mother" I answer, slightly calmer now. "Did you leave the message?"

"Yes. I hope she will come. I was thinking about what you said. It's futile to think of all kinds of scenarios without knowing more. But I really hope Evelyn did not set me up."

"I hope so too. Come on, let's watch another movie."

We put in another movie but I'm not really paying attention to it. Half way through I fall asleep and find myself again in the factionless sector. I wasn't here since I became a leader. Like the other times I walk around trying to understand what I'm doing here. Unlike before there's much more light in the tall room. It looks like the warehouse were Peter shot Eric. I walk around trying to find someone to understand why I'm here. I hear voices and instinctively hide behind a large crate. The voices become louder and I poke my head out to see who it is. I don't know why I'm hiding. They can't see me anyway. I see a tall man, maybe forty years old, pale with a bushy brown beard and dark green eyes. He's wearing blue Erudite pants and a orange Amity shirt with black Dauntless combat boots. He looks like he didn't have a shower in more than just a few days, maybe weeks. The woman he's with on the other hand looks far better. She wears a white Candor shirt with black skin-tight jeans and some dark brown boots. She looks beautiful and young, even though you can see the hardship of living factionless on her face. She has dark brown curls and dark blue eyes and I can't help myself but feel something familiar about her. I think I know her. But where from? If I would have seen her during the time I had to volunteer while still living in Abnegation I'm sure I would have remembered her. Maybe I saw her before that, when I was even younger, but I can't place her anywhere.

I decide to follow them. They are talking in hushed voices and I have a hard time understanding what either is saying. I see the man handing the woman a white piece of paper. Something is written on it, but I don't get the chance to read it because I feel something pull me backwards. I try to fight it, but it's futile. I open my eyes and look around. I look up and see the familiar ceiling and realize I'm in my bedroom.

"Hey sleeping beauty" Tobias softly whispers in my ear. I turn my head to the left and find his smiling face.

"I could have sworn I fell asleep on the couch" I say with a chuckle.

"You did, but it wasn't really comfortable and I got bored with the movie. I thought I should take you to bed and take a nap myself."

"What time is it?" I ask followed by yawn.

"It's nine p.m. There's still time" he says.

"Alright. We should eat something."

"I'm not really hungry."

"Me neither actually."

He bends down and kisses me. We stare into each other's eyes and I can feel the familiar warmth spread through my whole body. Suddenly I'm wide awake and desire takes over. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him close to me. We start kissing again, gentle at first, but the more we kiss the more aggressive and hungry we become. Tobias is now covering me with his body and I welcome his weight.

Tobias usually takes his time when we are making love. We had the occasional quickie in the shower and maybe once or twice in his office. It's more primal than our thorough love making. But I can't complain. Tobias is an outstanding lover. I'm a real lucky girl.

We quickly undress each other and Tobias starts kissing me ferociously. When air becomes an issue he trails feather like kisses down my jaw to my collarbone, kissing each raven. He bends further down and sucks on my right breast, while kneading the left. He continues this special treatment before switching breasts and I can hardly keep it together anymore. The anticipation is killing me. He travels further down licking and biting every now and then until he reaches my womanhood. He kisses my entrance before pushing his velvety tongue inside me eliciting a long, loud moan from me. He dips his tongue a few more times before replacing it with two digits while sucking on my bundle of nerves. He starts a leisurely in and out pace with his fingers until I moan "quicker" and he obliges. I can feel the pleasure building up and tell him "harder" and "deeper" and he thrusts as hard and as deep as his fingers allow. When he gently bites on my clit I come hard and feel like I'm on top of the world. I'm barely catching my breath when he crawls up and kisses me again. When he pulls back he says "turn around, on your knees". Ever since our first time we have tried out basically every position we could think of. This is one of my favorite. While it's a little inconvenient, because we can't look into each other's eyes when we make love, it's one of the most intense positions. I turn around holding myself up on my knees and arms, while Tobias positions himself at my entrance. He rubs his rock hard cock up and down my moist womanhood, making sure to not hurt me, and then buries himself in one swift movement. We both gasp at the sensation of this deep penetration and remain still for a minute. He then starts a steady in and out pace and I can already feel the pleasure building up again. He increases the pace holding my hips firmly while pounding relentlessly my womanhood. I can barely breathe when I feel one of the most intense orgasms I ever experienced wash over me. Tobias is still thrusting in and out when I feel him swell deep inside me before releasing his love. We collapse on the bed, him over me still buried deep inside me, panting heavy, unable to catch his breath after such an intense orgasm. Tobias stretches out his arms covering mine and lacing our fingers together above our heads. He places gentle kisses on the back of my neck and licks the sweat beads that have formed on my back. When I feel him stir I know he wants to get of me, afraid he's hurting me with his weight. But this is the most welcome burden I could've ever imagined.

"Honey, I'm heavy. Let me get off of you" he says with a chuckle, already familiar with my need to feel him close to me after making love.

"Nah-ah. You're staying right where you are" I say stubbornly.

"Alright. You asked for it" he says before starting to tickle me. I let go of his hands and he takes advantage of it, slipping out of me and lying on his back right next to me. I crawl over him and he automatically wraps me in his arms caressing my left cheek with his right hand.

"I love you" he softly says.

"I love you" I say and kiss his lips.

"I wish we could stay like this forever."

"Me too, but we have responsibilities we need to take care of, honey."

"I know. One can still dream" he says.

"We should eat something before we leave. Who knows how long your meeting with your mother will last. I don't want to go to bed with a full stomach" I say.

"What do you want to eat?" he asks.

"I don't know. Let's make some sandwiches" I suggest.

"Again?" he asks raising an eyebrow.

"Alright Mr. Fancy-Dinner. What do you suggest?" I ask putting on an offended look.

"How about some mini pizzas. You like them."

"Okay. I'll take a quick shower and start making them."

"No. I'll make them. Go take your shower, I'll take one afterwards."

He kisses me again and then gets out of bed. I turn on my stomach and grab his pillow and breathe his scent in.

"What are you doing, honey?" he asks with a chuckle. I turn around to look at him. I still can't believe that this gorgeous man is mine.

"I like your scent. I breathe it in every time you get out of bed" I say and he smiles.

"You are nuts" he says laughing.

"Nuts about you" I say sticking out my tongue playfully.

He walks downstairs to start our dinner and I manage, somehow, to drag myself out of bed and into our bathroom. I walk into the shower and turn on the water. I pull my hair into a messy bun to avoid getting it wet. When the water temperature is right I stand under the shower, my head out of the way, and let the warm spray cover me like a silky smooth blanket. I grab my green apple body wash and pour some in my palms. I rub my hands together creating a thick layer of foam and rub it all over my body. When I'm satisfied I soaped every last bit of skin I rinse thoroughly and then get out. I towel dry myself and walk into the bedroom. Just then Tobias walks in and looks me over smirking sexy.

"You should put some clothes on, babe, otherwise I don't think we will be ready in time for that meeting" he says pulling me close to him. He kisses me gently and I feel like melting in his arms. When he let's go I feel my knees go weak and hold onto him. "I'm glad I still make you weak in the knees" he says grinning.

"Oh, shut up. Go take your shower" I say laughing. He gives me one quick peck and then goes into the bathroom.

I put on some comfortable boy shorts and a sports bra, black sweatpants and a tee shirt and grab my hoodie for when we leave. I go downstairs and check on the mini pizzas. Just when I enter the kitchen the timer goes off and I take them out of the oven. I put them on a large plate and pour Tobias and myself each a glass of cold water. He soon joins me at the kitchen island and we eat our dinner feeding each other. When we are done Tobias takes the plate and the empty glasses and puts them in the dishwasher. I look at the clock and it reads 10.45 p.m. We decide to wait another half hour before leaving, since we will make it to the Navy Pier in no time. We sit back on the couch and start talking.

"Tobias?"

"Yes?"

"Remember when we told Walsh and the other staff members that we would evaluate their work?" I ask.

"You mean when Walsh almost peed his pants?" he asks laughing.

"Yeah" I answer remembering how nervous our accountant got when we told him not everyone might keep his or her job after the interrogations.

"Why?" he finally asks after we finish laughing.

"I think it's time we go through with it. We both agreed to let things settle and then come back to this issue. I think it's important to do this. Obviously not everyone is doing a good job, some are slacking off or have absolutely no clue what they are doing even though they had that job for quite some time. That's not good. It's unfair to those who do a very good job and those who could do a better job if they would get the opportunity."

"I agree. I think we should keep the system unchanged as much as possible though" he says and I furrow my eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean not everyone can handle change very well. For instance, take the initiates. We can only offer them jobs that are available at the time. We can't kick someone out because next year a initiate would fit better a job. Besides people are used to the way things go."

"Of course not. But how do you suggest we approach this?"

"We will reevaluate jobs periodically with the help of the supervisors in each section. Let's say biannually. If someone stands out for being too lazy or too incompetent or just doesn't play well with others we should consider replacing that person. The person will be notified that he or she is on probation and if he or she gets three complaints then we'll kick that person out and offer the job to someone else."

"That should work. It makes them aware that their job isn't safe just because of ranking or because at some point they did a good job and now are being lazy. We should talk to all the branches and discuss internships. This way the potential new employees can learn the trade and the employers won't spend extra money. Those who will apply for a new job will have to talk to their supervisors to get some time off from work or use their vacation time. We should also be informed of any change. We need to discuss this thoroughly before implementing" I say.

"Yeah. But I think it will be a good change. We should set up a meeting soon with the close staff" Tobias suggests.

"Yeah. I'll check my calendar tomorrow and then we'll see."

Tobias looks at his watch and tells me it's time to go. I put my hoodie on and grab my phone. I set in on vibrate while we walk to the garage, in case someone tries to call me while Tobias talks to his mother. After all, I'm not supposed to be there.

We get in the car and drive to the Navy Pier while still discussing business. When we approach our destination I climb into the backseat to avoid detection. Tobias pulls into the old abandoned parking lot and stops the engine. He turns of the lights and waits in the car for his mother to make an appearance. At first there's no sign of her but then he says he saw something and gets out of the car. I look through the window and see a tall, slim figure approach. The figure it's still too far away to see who it is, but the moment the figure stands a feet away from Tobias I recognize the figure. It's the same woman I saw in my dreamlike state. Is this Tobias's mother? Is this Evelyn Eaton?

"Hello Tobias" she says.

"Hello Evelyn" he replies.

So it is her – Evelyn Eaton. That's why she looked so familiar to me. She reminded me of Tobias. Now that I think of it Tobias looks a lot like his mother. The same dark-brown curly hair, the dark blue eyes, the crooked nose all those things are present in both mother and son.

"I'm so happy to see you again" she speaks again.

"Have you heard?" Tobias asks in his Four voice.

"About Marcus?" Tobias nods. "Yes."

"Did you have anything to do with it?" Tobias asks directly. I have to remember never letting him handle delicate situations.

"Is this why you asked to see me? To discuss your good for nothing father?" she asks offended.

"I'm not here to discuss anything. Did you or did you not have anything to do with the attack?" Tobias asks again a little angry.

"First of all, loose the tone. I'm your mother" she says and Tobias looks away and sniffs. "And second I had nothing to do with it." I watch her carefully as she says that. She looks him straight in the eyes radiating confidence. I'm not entirely sure she's telling the truth. "But I would lie if I would say that I feel sorry for that bastard" she spits.

"Alright. Do you have any idea who might be behind it?" Tobias asks next, a little calmer.

"No. But I'm sure he made a few enemies over the years" she offers. I can't help but agree with her. He might play the caring Abnegation member that respects faction rules and the dedicated head of the city council. He even pretended to be a loving family man and then the heart-broken father that was betrayed by his only son, but I know it's only show. There's more to Marcus Eaton than meets the eye. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who saw it. I might have believed the lies, but I never knew him while living in Abnegation. But after going through Tobias's fear landscape and then work closely with Marcus for the past two months I had the opportunity to see the real piece of shit he actually is.

"Witnesses say it was a tall, masked man. He was dressed in black" Tobias tells his mother.

"That means it could have been anyone. Maybe someone from Dauntless" Evelyn says. She says Dauntless like it's a bad thing, like it's something one should get rid of. Maybe she hates the faction because Tobias chose to stay there than live factionless with her.

"Someone like me" Tobias says and I can see this surprised her.

"I didn't mean you" she defends. "No one would think you would attack your own father" she says. Oh, how wrong she is. Tobias still feels uneasy around Marcus, but the few times since we became leaders he had to interact with his father Tobias stood his ground and practically transformed from shy, obedient Tobias to fierce and dangerous Four.

"Unfortunately that's not true. I'm the prime suspect" he says and she is even more shocked. I believe she doesn't give a crap about Marcus, but she loves her son. Her own way, anyway. But just because she is shocked that Tobias is a suspect and the prime suspect nonetheless doesn't mean she is guiltless of this crime.

"That's absurd. Why would they think that?" Evelyn inquires.

"Because my relationship with Marcus isn't the best and as far as the city knows Marcus has no enemies. And I made it clear that I hate my father" he explains.

"Why would you do that?" she asks sounding like she is scolding him for doing something stupid.

"It wasn't like I could do something about it" he says angry again. "I was put under truth serum, just like everybody else."

"I didn't know that" she says backing off a little.

"Well, it's true. It wasn't public, it happened at Dauntless with a few Abnegation members that volunteered to conduct the interrogations."

"And they didn't tell your father what you said?" she asks disbelievingly.

"I asked them not to and they respected my wish as far as I know."

"Who interrogated you?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I knew most council members and Abnegation members alike. I might be able to tell you if they told your father or not."

"I already told you I believe them when they say they haven't said anything" Tobias repeats.

"Please, tell me. I'm your mother. You can trust me."

"Alright. Andrew Prior, Jonah Smith, Daniel Jacobson and Michael Prady" Tobias tells her.

"There you have it. Jonah is a know-it-all and lives to obey the rules. And Andrew Prior is your fathers closest friend. I bet Prior told him about your interrogation" she says triumphantly and I want to jump out and punch her. How dare she say that about my father.

"Don't you dare speak of Andrew like that" Tobias growls and Evelyn backs off.

"What's the matter? Since when do you care about Abnegation members, especially your father's friends?" she asks shocked by his violent reaction.

"Andrew would never do that. I know him well enough. He has high morals and for the past two months he has been like a father to me. If it wouldn't have been for Andrew I wouldn't have a clue what a loving father is supposed to look and feel like. I certainly didn't have one in Marcus."

"Since when are you so close to Andrew Prior?" she asks angry.

"Since he offered me his support and friendship. Satisfied?"

"But why him? What if your father asked him to gain your trust to spy on you?"

"I can't believe you would even suggest something so unethical like that. I know Andrew and I trust him. You know why? Because he is a very good father that loves his kids more than his own life. He would never let me stay close to his daughter if he wouldn't trust me. I know him well enough to know this much. So how can I not trust him? He, unlike others, never gave me one reason to not trust his loyalty and goodhearted feelings toward me."

"Wait. What did you say? His daughter? That little girl?"

"She is not a little girl anymore" Tobias says clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

"How do you even know her?"

"She is my girlfriend" Tobias says proudly and my heart swells.

"Your girlfriend? Wait. She transferred to Dauntless?"

"Yes. You got any problem with that?"

"Beatrice Prior, that scrawny little girl? She's your girlfriend?" she asks incredulous. She's kind of pissing me off right now. I might have been a little thin when I chose Dauntless at the Choosing Ceremony, but since then I grew a little more and put on some muscle. I know I'm not what one might call beautiful, although Tobias does it and I have to blush, but I'm certainly not scrawny. Not anymore.

"Yes, she is. And she's not scrawny. She is beautiful and brave. She stopped a massacre when Jeanine Matthews planned on using the Dauntless to kill the Abnegation. She is remarkable and I'm happy and lucky that she chose me. And I will always choose her."

Evelyn remains quiet for some time. She stares at Tobias disbelievingly shaking her head a few times. I can tell Tobias isn't happy. It will take some time for him to calm down after this. Boy, he just doesn't get a break today. First his dad, now his mom.

"I can't believe this. You and the Prior girl. You are too good for her. What can someone like her offer you?" Evelyn asks and I bite my tongue to not scream.

"Unconditional love" Tobias answers.

"What does a little girl know about love?" Evelyn spits.

"A lot more than you. She is always there for me when I need her, she supports me and even when she doesn't agree with me she hears me out and tells me her point of view. If I choose to do something regardless of her opinion she still stands by me. And I love her more than anyone in the world" Tobias declares.

"More than your own mother?" Evelyn asks shocked and angry at the same time.

"What do you think? It wasn't her who abandoned me when I needed her the most. In fact, I don't even have to tell her when to come to me or not. Somehow she knows when I need my space and when I desperately need her to just be in the same room with me. She is everything to me. I would die for her and I know she would do the same for me. So you tell me."

"I can't believe my ears. Is she the reason why you abandoned our plan to come live with me?"

"Our plan? Don't be ridiculous. It was never our plan. It was yours from the beginning. And what do you mean come live with you? You live factionless."

"I live free" she yells.

"Really? No roof above your head, depending on the Abnegation to bring you food. Is that freedom? Ad yes she is the reason why I chose to stay. She showed me that there's more to life than holding a grudge. The system might not be perfect but she and I are trying to make life in Dauntless and the city work. And just for the record, out of the three of us she is the only one who stands up to Marcus. I only gathered the courage to stand up myself because of her. So stop disrespecting her" he yells back.

"That girl brainwashed you. You men are all alike. The moment a pretty face smiles your way you have only eyes for her. I bet she manipulates you with sex to do whatever she wants you to" Evelyn says with venom.

"Shut up. I can't believe you would say that. How dare you speak about her like that when you don't even know her" Tobias yells and gets closer to her "and how can you think so low of me that I would let myself be manipulated by anyone. If anything Tris is the only person who tells me what's what. We have no secrets whatsoever."

"Now you are naïve. Do you really think she tells you everything. I bet she tells her mommy and daddy everything about you and they tell Marcus."

"Stop it! You know she actually encouraged me to mend my relationship with you, because guess what she actually loves me and wants what's best for me. But I'm not going to do a damn thing if you keep talking like that about the woman I love. Listen to me, Evelyn, if you ever want a serious mother-son relationship with me than you'll have to rethink your attitude toward my girlfriend. When you think you can do that without pretending than send me a message. If not, this should be the last time that we meet."

"Your leaving me? For her?" she asks incredulous.

"I am not leaving you. You left me nine years ago. I'm telling you what I need from you. If you can provide that good, if not that's fine too."

Tobias turns around and gets into the car leaving his mother speechless behind. He starts the engine and momentarily drives away. The moment we are on the road again I speak again.

"Tobias" I say tentatively. He is startled and almost drives off the road.

"Fuck" he lets out before steadying the car and coming to a stop. "You scared the shit out of me" he says a little breathless, but in a much lower voice than I would've expected.

"Are you alright?" I ask, climbing back into the front seat.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry, love, I forgot you were in the back" he says looking at me, his eyes sparkling.

"Honey" I say and reach out to cup his face with my right hand. He leans into my touch before turning his head and kissing my palm.

"I'm sorry you had to hear all that" he finally says.

"It's okay. It's not your fault. Thank you" I say smiling at him.

"For what?" he asks confused.

"For defending me and standing up for us" I say. He gives me a small smile before kissing me softly.

"I meant every word, love. I can't believe all the things she said" Tobias says sitting back in his seat, a defeated sigh escaping his lips. I boldly climb over him, straddling his lap.

"I love you, Tobias, with all my heart. No one and nothing will ever change that. I can handle her, don't worry. To know that you love me and that you are willing to stand up for us gives me so much strength. I would lie if I would say that the things she said about me aren't hurtful, but you are right, she doesn't know me. Maybe if she would she would have a different opinion. But the fact that she would suggest my dad would spy on you to feed Marcus information that's unforgivable."

"How can you still find excuses for her outrageous behavior after having to listen to all the vile things she said about you?" he asks.

"I can handle it. I could tell that she loves you, in her own way. And she is obviously hurt that you rejected her. But I know she is important to you, don't deny it. I once told you I would support any decision you make regarding both of your parents. I would listen to hours of insults coming from your mother if it meant you could have your mom back. As for your dad, well he is pretty insulting already, but him I can handle better."

"You are amazing, Beatrice Prior" he says and kisses me again.

"No, I'm just in love. And love makes you do stupid, crazy things."

"Like straddling your boyfriends lap in the car in the middle of the road, where anyone could see us" he asks grinning and I realize he's right. I blush crimson and he laughs.

"Stop laughing" I say smacking his arm lightly. I get off of him and sit back down on my seat. Tobias drives away and we remain silent for the rest of the ride. We both have to think about what happened today. First Marcus gets shot by a mysterious tall, masked, black-clothed man that resembles Tobias, then Jack tells me Tobias is a suspect, then I project myself into the factionless sector where I see a man handing a woman a note. The factionless woman turns out to be Evelyn Eaton, Tobias's mother and now she hates me without even knowing me. Great day! Thank God it's past midnight.

When we drive into the garage I realize something. The factionless woman is Evelyn Eaton. Every time I projected myself into the factionless sector she was there. This has to mean something. But what? I should tell Tobias. I don't want to keep this from him. But he is tired now and so am I. We both need to rest. I'll tell him in the morning. Oh damn, this far from over.


	22. Chapter 22

22

I wake up and find Tobias still sleeping with his arms protectively around me. I don't want to wake him but we got to get up. I know it's still early, but I don't want us to eat in the cafeteria. I still need to tell him something and it's better if I do it here, at home. I kiss his lips softly and he stirs a little, but doesn't move. I kiss him again, this time with a little more pressure. When he kisses me back I know his awake and I pull slightly back and open my eyes.

"I thought you wanted to make out" he says sleep thick in his voice.

"Why would you think that?" I ask and he looks down at me smiling.

"Because usually you kiss me once for wake-up and twice if you want more" he says smirking.

"I kissed you a second time because you didn't open your eyes. I thought you were still sleeping" I say with a pout and he kisses me. "And for the record I always want more than one kiss" I say after he pulls back.

"I meant something else" he says still smirking.

"I know what you meant. And don't act like I'm the only one who wants that."

"I never said that. And for the record, I would stay attached to you 24/7" he says grinning.

"That's so wrong on so many levels, sweet, but terribly wrong" I say and slip out of bed.

"What? Why?" he asks confused.

"For starters we wouldn't be able to go to work."

"I could use a vacation" he says.

"What about moving around the apartment?"

"I can carry you."

"What about the bathroom?"

"We can shower together, I don't mind sharing my body wash with you."

"I meant the toilet" I say raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, that. Well that I admit would be problematic" he says pretending to think of a solution. I grab my pillow and throw it his way catching him off guard and hitting him in the face. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Stop joking around, Tobias. Come on, I'm hungry. What would you like to eat" I ask and he finally gets out of bed.

"You."

"Tobias, seriously now."

"Some cereals. I'm not in the mood for anything else."

"Alright."

We walk into the hall and before I know it Tobias picks me up and carries me bridal style down the stairs and sits me down on the couch.

"Why did you do that?" I ask laughing.

"I told you I can carry you" he says walking into the kitchen.

"I know you can. It's not the first time you did it. My question was more why at all?"

"Because I want to hold you in my arms as often as I can" he says smiling. I love it when he smiles. "No, sit back down. I'll bring you breakfast over there" he says and I sit back down. Within a minute he is back and hands me a bowl of cereals with cold milk.

"Thank you" I say and kiss his cheek.

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

"Tobias?"

"Yes?"

"Remember when I had that weird dream that I was in the factionless sector?" I ask. He thinks for a moment before nodding his head. "I had that dream again that same night. It wasn't really a dream. I projected myself there. I have no idea how I managed to do that or why, but I did. I was scared so I tried to focus on mom and when she answered I realized that it wasn't a dream. She helped me get back to my body. The next day when she called I got confirmation that indeed it wasn't a dream. But it didn't happen again until yesterday afternoon." Tobias looks at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"Why are you telling me this now?" he asks, no trace of anger in his voice.

"When it happened two months ago I didn't give it a second thought. When I met with my mom outside of Abnegation, remember" he nods "I talked to her about it. We don't really know what exactly happened. Mom suggested that my ability is probably growing. It happened over the years several times. But when nothing happened afterwards I just ignored it. But yesterday it happened again. This time I could see more because it was still day outside and the building I was in was flooded with light."

"How do you know it was the factionless sector? Did you see someone?" he asks, taking a spoon full of cereals into his mouth.

"The first two times I saw Myra, like I told you before. She was talking to a woman who I couldn't see. I'm not entirely sure, but I think I saw that same woman again yesterday."

"Did you see her this time?"

"Yes. I saw her twice actually. First when I projected myself and then later when you talked to her" I say and wait for his reaction.

"Wait. My mother?" he asks dropping his spoon in his bowl. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. When I saw her during my projection I had no clue it was her, but later when I saw her talking to you I knew it's the same person. She looked familiar to me but I had no clue why. Now I know. I'm sorry that I haven't told you before" I say afraid he might be mad at me.

Tobias puts his bowl on the coffee table in front of us and reaches for mine. When he turns back to me he pulls me into his lap and hugs me tightly.

"There's no need to apologize, love. You didn't know it meant anything. Besides you said it yourself, it happened two months ago and then nothing."

"Are you sure? It's okay if you are mad. I mean we agreed no secrets and here I am telling you something you didn't know." He pulls away and looks into my eyes.

"Honey, I'm not mad. And you already told me about your gift. I understand that you were confused about it. I trust you completely. And I know you well enough to know why you haven't told me this until now."

"Really? Why?"

"You already had to put up with me after telling me that my father got shot and then you had to tell me that I'm the prime suspect in the case. I was more than a jerk yesterday" I stop him from continuing by putting my index finger over his lips. He kisses the tip of my finger softly.

"Listen to me, Tobias. I love you more than anything. I would put up with you any day of the week. As for yesterday it was a really hard day for you. I didn't want to add more stress by telling you this. Besides I have no clue what this means. I am not doing it on purpose, the projection I mean. I have no idea how to stop it or why it's happening in the first place. The only thing I can come up with is your mother."

"Why do you say that?"

"The more I think about it the more sense it makes. The first two times I couldn't see her face, but I heard her voice. And yesterday I finally saw her only to learn later that she's Evelyn Eaton. I thought at first that I got there because of Myra, because I know her. Mom suggested that the place might mean something. But now it makes a lot more sense. She was there all three times. I don't know why, but she is the only thing these outer-body trips of mine have in common."

"Don't worry, love, we will get to the bottom of this. Together. How can I help you?" he asks and it melts my heart. He is so wonderful. I kiss his lips and smile when I pull back.

"You are already helping me so much by just being here" I say and fight hard to not let the tears that have gathered in my eyes roll down my face.

"Hey, no tears." He hugs me tightly and I calm down. It's amazing how the simplest touch can calm me. Of course, he's the only one who can do that.

"I'm sorry, I'm such a mess."

"It's okay."

"And for the record, you weren't a jerk."

"Alright. Come on, let's finish breakfast and then go to work. We have a lot to do" he says and I take my bowl from the coffee table.

We finish eating and I put the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. Tobias went already upstairs to take a shower and I follow him shortly. I undress quickly in the bedroom leaving my clothes on the floor and walk into our bathroom. I open the shower door and enter. Upon seeing me Tobias smiles brightly and pulls me in his arms. I absolutely love these moments.

We somehow manage to shower without devouring each other and get ready for our day. Tobias decided to call the hospital to check on Marcus to avoid going there. We walk hand in hand to our offices and Tobias kisses me before I enter mine. I sit down at my desk starting my computer while randomly playing with the pencil I picked up.

I suddenly feel very sleepy and find it difficult to keep my eyes open. I blink several times in an attempt to wake me up but I fail. I close my eyes and I'm unable to open them again. I am enveloped by darkness and even though I never feared it I feel very uneasy right now. What is going on? Where am I? I try to feel something in the dark, but there's absolutely no point of reference. I faintly hear a noise, but I can't tell where it's coming from. I try to move but find that I'm glued to the spot. Am I in a simulation? Is this part of my fear landscape? I don't remember going to the fear landscape room or inject myself with the simulation serum. The noise gets louder and I can now positively say that someone is talking. I can't understand who it is or what they are saying, but someone is definitely talking. The sound is getting louder and suddenly I feel a push. I fall down and close my eyes expecting pain, but there's nothing. I open them and I can finally see. I'm in the warehouse, in the factionless sector. The same place I saw Evelyn Eaton yesterday. I hear the voices again and realize they are behind me. I turn around and in that same moment Evelyn walks right through me. At least I'm not really here. I should follow her. There must be a reason why I'm always summoned here and it becomes clear that it has something to do with Evelyn. I follow her into a small chamber where a small group of men and women wait.

"Everyone, sit down" she says. They all sit down and I wonder if Evelyn is their leader. "Yesterday Marcus Eaton was attacked. He is in the hospital right now and there's no telling if he might survive or not. While I don't really care for him I do not wish his death. But what I care about is my son. The person who did this made sure to look like him, which made him the prime suspect in this crime. It's needless to say that I'm more than disturbed and sincerely hope that none of you had anything to do with it" she says and I look around to see if anyone fits the description. I scan the group and see a familiar face – Edward. He looks better than I would have expected, considering his status and the fact that he lost one eye. I look around more to see if I can find Myra, but she isn't here. Other than Evelyn and Edward I don't recognize anyone. "I am not expecting you to come forth if you are involved in this incident right now. You can come to me later and discuss this in private."

"What makes you think it's one of us?" Edward asks and the others nod their heads agreeing with him.

"I'm not saying that one of you did it. I was merely asking if anyone here had something to do with it. If it wouldn't have been for my son I could care less."

"Maybe it was him. He sure has enough reasons" one man in yellow pants and black tee shirt says. Did Evelyn share Tobias's secrets with this people? What do they know about her life with Marcus?

"It wasn't him. He told me himself and I believe him" she firmly says glaring at the man. He backs off a little and I'm now certain, Evelyn Eaton is a leader among them.

"How can you believe that? He said he would come live with you and now he is a Dauntless leader" a woman says standing up.

"Watch your tone, Erica" Evelyn yells. She reminds me of Tobias right now when he's acting like Four. "He chose to stay for a girl" Evelyn says angry.

"Tris?" Edward asks.

"You know her?" Evelyn looks at him.

"I met her when we both chose Dauntless. She was a frail, small girl that I for one never thought would make it through initiation, let alone become a leader" he says, no emotion in his voice.

"What do you think of her?" Evelyn asks.

"I don't know. I barely spoke two words with her, but she is brave and never let that asshole Eric put her down. Even after Peter" he spits the name "beat the crap out of her she still got up. I remember she was the first there when I got stabbed and helped me get to the infirmary. But other than that I don't know."

"Thank you, Edward" Evelyn says.

"Tris" I hear a faint voice. "Tris" there it is again. It sounds like Tobias. Is he here? I look around but can't see him. "Tris" I hear him say louder.

"Tobias, where are you?" I ask.

"Tris, wake up" I hear him say. What? But I'm awake.

"Tobias, I don't understand. Where are you?"

"I'm in your office. And so are you" he says. Right. I was in my office when I suddenly felt really sleepy. I want to listen to what Evelyn says but somehow I can't hear her anymore. I concentrate on Tobias and close my eyes. When I open them I look into his worried face that calms a little when I smile.

"Thank God, you woke up" he says and pulls me close to him. When he lets go of me I realize I'm on the couch. I look up at him for an explanation, although I should be the one giving him one. "What happened?" he asks concerned.

"I don't know. The moment I sat down I felt sleepy and it was difficult to keep my eyes open. When I couldn't keep them open anymore I got enveloped by darkness until I heard voices. I tried to focus on them but they sounded far away. Then I felt a push and I fully expected to hit the ground. I instinctively closed my eyes and when I opened them I was back in the factionless sector. When I turned around to the sound of a voice I saw your mother. She walked right through me and I knew I projected myself. She talked to some people there. Edward was there too. And then I heard you calling but I couldn't see you" I tell him.

"Tris, I heard you. In my head. At first I thought you woke up and talked to me, but you were still unconscious. I could hear you in my head" he says and my eyes widen.

"That's new" I say sitting up. Tobias sits down next to me and looks me in the eyes.

"What do you mean? You said you can contact your mother like this" he says confused.

"Yeah, but it took years and lot of concentration and it was never her who contacted me. I always made the connection. But this time I heard you first" I say and now his eyes widen.

We both remain silent for a while. Tobias pulls me into his arms and I welcome it. I always feel safe when he holds me.

"Maybe your mom is right. Maybe your ability is growing" he suggests.

"Maybe. It's still odd. Could you bring me some water?" He immediately gets up and brings me a bottle of water from the mini fridge across the room, he opens the cap and gives it to me. I drink almost half the bottle when I finally put it down.

"You okay?" he asks holding my hands in his.

"I don't know. I was just thinking. Would you mind if we would practice together?" I ask unsure of his answer.

"Practice what?" he asks confused.

"Creating a connection between us. Maybe this time was just pure luck. But maybe someday I'll need to contact you during an emergency" I say.

"Are you sure you want me to be inside your head" he asks with caution, seemingly afraid.

"Yeah" I say and remember a similar situation from not too long ago. "There was a time when I asked you the same question, remember" I ask smiling. When he remembers he smiles as well. "I don't have secrets from you and the fact that we could do this even without trying it out first tells me we have a strong bond. Otherwise this would have never worked. While I love both my brother and father very much the strongest bond I have is with my mom. It took a while to create the connection with her, but eventually I managed. I was never able to do it with my brother. My mom and I decided to not tell my brother about my gift, especially when we were children. My dad knows, but not everything. I asked my mom to keep this between the two of us, especially since he is a council member and might have to answer under truth serum."

"I understand. Thank you" he says smiling.

"For what?"

"I had no idea that this was such a guarded secret even within your family. So thank you for trusting me to keep your secret" he says sincerely.

"Of course I trust you. But we shouldn't speak about it. At least not more than absolutely necessary." He nods his head in agreement.

"You said Evelyn talked to some people. Could you hear what they were saying?"

"Evelyn confronted the group gathered there regarding Marcus's attack. She didn't say openly that she believed someone among them attacked your father, but she told them if it was someone he or she should look for her to talk about it in private. She also said she couldn't care less about Marcus, but this attack put you, her son, in the spot light. When someone suggested that you might indeed have something to do with the attack she defended you. She also thinks you remained in Dauntless because of me" I tell him.

"That's actually true" he says smiling.

"Yeah, only you say it full of love, while for her this means you're a dumbass who has the hots for some girl" I say and we both laugh. He kisses my forehead after a while before saying "If loving you makes me a dumbass than I'm the biggest in town" and we laugh even more.

"We should practice later when we are at home, okay?" he asks and I nod in agreement. "Before I came here I called everyone on the staff to meet us in the conference room after lunch to discuss the new system" he tells me.

"Good. We should start rebuilding from the ground. Now that we know how things used to work we can improve them. But we need to be careful not to exaggerate with the changes."

"I agree. Let's prepare everything for later and set up the folders for the staff" he says and we get working. We decide to go to his office since most of the information is stored either on his computer or in the file cabinets.

After about two hours of writing down ideas of what we want to change and how to do it I realize that we were supposed to go to Candor to give our testimonies.

"Tobias, we forgot about Candor" I say and jump up.

"Relax, we didn't. In fact, Jack called me earlier and asked me to postpone our arrival for later. He wanted to be present when we testify and he had some urgent business to take care of. This is why I came to your office. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you" he says apologetically.

"It's alright. I just now remembered about that" I say. "Did he say when?"

"He asked us to be there at five p.m. He told me to call him when we are in the lobby" Tobias explains.

"Alright. Let's finish up here and then go grab something to eat" I say.

"It's still early for the cafeteria lunch. Would you like to go home and make something. We have almost two hours before our meeting with the staff" Tobias suggest.

"That would be wonderful" I say and kiss his cheek.

We finish setting up the folders, leaving them in the conference room before heading up to our apartment. Tobias unlocks the door and lets me enter first. I go into the kitchen and open the fridge. I look around for a while before I decide to make a mushroom cream soup. I take the mushrooms, wash them, slice them and boil them. While I wait for them to be ready I join Tobias on the balcony who went there since we got home. It's obvious there's something on his mind.

"If you furrow your eyebrows this much you will get wrinkles" I say and he looks my way, smiling instantly.

"I didn't hear you coming" he says before pulling me into his strong arms.

"I'm getting better at sneaking up on you" I say proudly.

"Yeah, you are" he says with a small laugh.

"What's bothering you, honey?"

"A lot. Everything. First Marcus, then Evelyn" he says and I know what he means. "I don't wish him to die, but I feel guilty that I don't care more. I should be in the hospital right now" he says.

"Why don't you go?" I ask. I'm sure I can handle a staff meeting on my own.

"Here's the thing. I don't want to go. I don't want him to die, but somehow I don't care much about him."

"Your hurt, honey. He hurt you. The fact alone that you don't want him dead is telling me that you care for your father. I don't blame you for not wanting to be in the same room with him. Whatever you do, however, do it because it feels right to you and you alone. Don't do something to please someone else or because social convention dictates it. If you feel the need to go visit your father just go. If you don't want to, that's fine to. You don't owe anyone any kind of explanation. But don't do something or not out of spite. Because even though your father probably will survive this you'll never know how much time you'll have him around."

Tobias looks at me seriously for a moment before smiling. It melts my heart when he smiles at me and a thousand butterflies fly around in my stomach like crazy.

"Have I ever told you that you are the wisest person I've ever met, Beatrice Prior?" he asks.

"No. But I don't know if it's wisdom. I thought a lot about you, actually I think about you all the time" I say smiling "but what I meant was I kept thinking about you and your parents. Your mom clearly dislikes me, but she at least tried to get closer to you. I will never forgive her for what she did to you, but I've told you I would take anything from her if it meant you could have your mom back. It's up to you. Same goes for your dad. I don't want you to make a decision based on my feelings or theirs. You are the most important person in this equation. Whatever you decide I'll be still here, but decide what's best for you, not anyone else" I say.

"Thank you, love. You have no idea what this means to me. The fact that you love and support me means more to me than anything in this world. I don't know what I did to deserve you" he says emotion thick in his voice.

"Probably the same thing I did to deserve you" I say before we kiss passionately. I pull away from him when I hear the alarm clock I set in the kitchen. "Wanna help me with lunch?" I ask him and he follows me inside.

We finish cooking and eat at the kitchen island. It's not much, pretty much an Abnegation meal, but it's delicious. After we're done Tobias takes the dishes and puts them in the dishwasher, turning it on. I go upstairs to brush my teeth when I decide to try something out.

"Tobias? Can you hear me?" I ask in my mind concentrating on him.

"Tris?" he asks back confused.

"Yes."

"You are in my head again" he says astonished.

"Yes, I am. I wanted to see if I could do it while awake."

"Where are you?"

"Our bathroom."

I hear footsteps and a moment later Tobias stands in the door to our bathroom. He looks stunned at me and I imagine I have a surprised look on my face as well.

"How did you do that?" he asks.

"I concentrated on you. I thought maybe I can create a connection with you too" I explain.

"Was it hard?" he asks coming closer and placing his hands on my hips.

"No, surprisingly."

"Why surprisingly?"

"It took me years to create a connection with my mom without touching her hand. I never managed with my dad and just barely managed to tap my brother so to speak. I figured I could do it with mom because she is my mother and we had a special bond ever since she was pregnant with me. My brother I tried out because I thought since we have the same mother there might be a connection as well, but I could only get close to him when he was asleep and only barely. I could hear him dream, but he couldn't hear me, so I gave up. I tried it with my dad too, but there was no reaction whatsoever" I explain as we walk into our bedroom and sit on the bed.

"Why do you suppose did it work with me?" he asks furrowing his eyebrows.

"I don't know" I say caressing his cheek "the only thing I can come up with is our love. It created a very strong bond between us. I am 100% sure that if I let myself fall you will catch me, that no matter what happens you'll always be there for me the same way I will be for you. We love each other more than life itself. We are connected in a way that is hard to describe, but I can feel it. When we make love we are closer than ever, not just physically, but also spiritual. I think this is why we can communicate with each other in our minds."

"Maybe. I do feel closer to you than to anyone else. But you're a telepath, maybe your ability just evolved" he says, unsure of what to think.

"True. But then explain to me, how is it that you called me the first time and not the other way around? Are you a telepath as well?" I ask letting him think for a minute.

"Not as far as I know."

"The more I think about it the more sense it makes. When you create a connection with someone that means that you open yourself up to that other person. I have opened myself to you in every possible way, except this one. You know everything about me and I know everything about you. Every time we fight we come back to each other. Every time one of us is sad the other one feels that sadness. We were connected long before this happened."

"I think you are right. Is it a bad thing if I say it's strange?" he asks.

"No. It is a little strange. But nothing we couldn't handle. After all we are Four and Six, right?" I ask and he smiles at the mention of our nicknames.

"We should definitely try it out sometime soon" he says before going into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

"Yeah, we should. Imagine how awesome it would be to have private chats during meetings when we want to say something but can't do it in front of other people" I say laughing.

"Or we could totally use this to our advantage when we play some game with our friends" he suggests.

"Hey, that's called cheating" I say.

"Only if we get caught" he replies kissing the tip of my nose. "We should go. It's almost one p.m. and our meeting is about to start." We leave the apartment and head back to the conference room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thoughts?
> 
> Is someone from the factionless involved in Marcus's attack?
> 
> Will Tobias ever have a better relationship with Evelyn?
> 
> Will Evelyn come around and accept Tris?
> 
> What about the special bond between Tobias and Tris?
> 
> See you soon.


	23. Chapter 23

23

It doesn't take long and everybody who is needed for this meeting is gathered in the conference room. The round table is perfect for such meetings, since everyone can see every person sitting here. I sit next to Tobias on my right and Dwayne on my left. Even though Tobias never said anything I'm sure he asked Dwayne, who is now head of security here, to keep me safe when he's not around. Although it's sweet that he always wants to protect me, sometimes it just bugs me that he doesn't trust that I could defend myself. I asked him several times to train with me but he refuses on the grounds that he doesn't want to hurt me. And since Tobias refused to train me I had to ask someone else. I knew that if I would ask Zeke he would refuse as well, so I asked Shauna. She and I decided to involve Lynn, Marlene and Christina as well and called it our girl time fun. The guys think we do some stretching and light exercises to maintain our weight, when in fact we do combat training. Shauna promised us to teach us everything she knows and even Lauren, the Dauntless-born instructor joined us recently. I learned that even though women are treated basically the same here, the Dauntless men still go out of their way to protect them from any harm. Sweet, but highly macho behavior for my taste. We had to survive the same shit like them during initiation, we are more than capable to defend ourselves. But if the men refuse to train us then we will do it ourselves.

"We asked you here today because we want to discuss something important with you" Tobias starts. "As you might remember during the interrogations I've told you that some people won't keep their jobs." They all nod. "Back then we haven't really discussed this issue, since we had more urgent matters to attend. After several days of studying the former system Tris and I came to a conclusion. Not everyone deserves his or her job. I will let Tris explain what we have in mind" he says.

"The thought first occurred to us when the initiates asked about available jobs. Back then we came up with three ambassadorships, a nurse job, a job in the tattoo parlor and of course the fence guarding jobs. As you all know jobs are picked according to ranking during initiation. We decided not to change that. It gives the initiates a reason to fight and work harder and show us what they are really made of, but more importantly what they are capable of. But after analyzing, mostly thanks to your input, we witnessed extremes. We saw people in high ranking jobs who were either lazy or completely incompetent or outstanding people in low paying jobs. I saw ambassadors who did a terrible job and I saw cafeteria personnel who showed not only skill but also interest in something other than their assignment. Therefore, Four and I decided to introduce this new system. With your help everyone will be evaluated biannually. If someone does a lousy job or just doesn't fit he or she will be replaced. But not before that person is officially notified that he or she might lose his or her job and given the chance to improve. If that person realizes that changing the job would be better he or she will be able to apply for one of the available ones. Also, before hiring someone new there will be a trial period in which time the applicant will learn what the new job is all about and after that period both employer and applicant will get the chance to decide if they want to work together or not. Hiring will be based on skill, aptitude and references from previous employers. I caution you however to request the entire file of the applicant. Everything clear so far?" I ask.

"I have a question" Ms. Aubrey says and I nod at her to continue. "During the trial period will the applicant receive any kind of salary or allowance?"

"No. It will be considered an internship. It won't last longer than two weeks, therefore I ask all of you to create schooling programs to teach new applicants everything in that time frame. Also, if someone is currently employed he or she can take his or her leave in which time he or she will be paid like it's an ordinary vacation. Every recording on an employee will be registered in a central data base. Everyone on this table will have access to it. Four and I are the only ones who can modify the data base, but also you for your respective department. For instance, if a cafeteria employee shows skill for accounting Ms. Stone will be the only one who can register this in the data base. If said employee wishes to pursue a career as an accountant he can officially apply for a job in that department. Clear so far?" They all nod.

"We will give everyone the chance to prove him or herself, but not more than three times per job" Tobias continues. "This means if someone is lazy he will be notified that he or she is on the short list to be fired. If you need to notify that person more than three times he or she will be automatically fired. That person can choose to either look for another job, assuming there are any at that moment, apply for a fence guarding job, which we all know is a done deal or ask for an allowance, that won't be higher than 20 points per day. We don't want them to slack off completely. If they try out three jobs and don't fit anywhere they will be made factionless, unless they can explain where the problem lies. We want reports periodically to monitor everything closely."

"We want to make Dauntless a better place where hard work and loyalty is rewarded and laziness is punished. I hope you agree with us, because we need your help to do this" I say.

"Don't worry, Tris. I for one am in" Dwayne says next to me and I smile.

"Thank you" I say.

"We are in too" Dr. Morris says and the others nod their heads.

"Thank you" Tobias says. "You have all the details in the folders right in front of you. Study the information and if you have any questions please feel free to ask them." They all nod again.

"Alright, I think we have some other issues to discuss as well" I say.

For the next two hours we discuss current problems and events, when Ms. Stone brings up a party.

"What about the Halloween party?" she asks.

"What's Halloween?" I ask confused. They all turn and look at me like I've grown a second head. "What?" I ask when it gets to uncomfortable.

"Abnegation doesn't celebrate most holidays" Tobias explains to the group. They seem to understand and Ms. Aubrey smiles warmly at me.

"It's a holiday especially fun for children. It is said that during Halloween night the spirits of the dead return to Earth to have some fun, but in order to not scare us we all dress up in funny or scary costumes" she explains.

"Really?" I ask in wonder.

"More or less. Bottom line, one day of the year we can dress up in costumes and the kids can go "Trick or Treat"-ing. It means they go from door to door and ask for a treat. If they don't get any they trick you, usually throw eggs at your door or worse. But it's fun" she explains further.

"Sounds fun" I say.

"You really never heard of Halloween" Dwayne asks in disbelief.

"No. In Abnegation we only celebrate a few things, but trust me none is fun. And definitely not this fun" I say and they all laugh.

"Tris, could you plan the party?" Tobias asks.

"Sure."

"If you need anything just let me know. We can have the same menu like last year or something different. It's up to you" Ms. Stone says.

"Since I wasn't here last year I leave the menu up to you. But feel free to change it if you like. By the way, when is this Halloween?"

"October 31st" Mr. Walsh says. "If you need anything tell me and I'll order it. As the Dauntless accountant I have many connections within the faction and beyond" he offers. I still don't like him, but at least he lost his attitude towards me. I don't know if this is because he likes me now or because he's scared of Tobias. As long as he's doing his job and doesn't piss me off too much I don't care.

"Alright. I'll see what I need. I think I will need some help though. It's my first Halloween and I don't know what goes and what don't. If I need something I'll let you all know."

We finish up and leave the conference room, the staff returning either to their own offices or some other place they are needed. I look at my watch and see that it is already ten minutes past four and tell Tobias that we should get going. We return to his office to retrieve the car keys and head to the garage where the SUV is parked. Since we became leaders Tobias taught me how to drive, in case I ever needed to get some place and he couldn't drive me. Even though I'm fairly good at it I still like it when he drives, especially when we have important meetings and my nerves are getting the best of me.

We drive out of the garage and I can see from my peripheral that Tobias is trying to not laugh. I turn to look at him but he keeps his gaze on the street in front of us.

"What's so funny?" I ask.

"Nothing" he says but barely manages to do it without laughing.

"Come on."

"I forgot to tell you. I meant to, I swear."

"Tell me what?"

"About Halloween. And all the other holidays we celebrate in Dauntless."

"And that's funny?" I ask not finding it all funny.

"A little."

"And you laugh because I came from Abnegation and had no clue" I say a little pissed.

"What? No, sweetheart. It's just the moment they mentioned Halloween I remembered about it too and I looked at you. You had such a startled look on your face that I barely kept it together when Ms. Aubrey explained it. You looked like a school girl that learned about something new" he says.

"I did learn something new" I defend. "You could have told me. Maybe then I wouldn't have looked like a complete idiot" I say a little bit angrier.

"I'm sorry, honey. Please, I promise when we get home I'll tell you about all the holidays we celebrate. Please, baby, forgive me" he says and gives me a puppy look that melts my heart, but I want to have some fun.

"I might forgive you, but I'm not there yet" I say and turn around to look out my window. I can hear him sigh and he knows he's in deep shit right now. Not really, but doesn't hurt if he stews a little. He knows I'll forgive him eventually.

The rest of the ride is quiet and I easily forget that I was angry with him only minutes ago. When we pull in front of the Candor headquarters Tobias stops the engine and turns to look at me.

"Are you still angry?" he asks with caution.

"No."

"You sure? I shouldn't have laughed."

"No, you shouldn't have."

"And I should have told you about this before."

"Yeah, you should have."

"Can you ever forgive me" he asks leaning closer and cupping my face in his left palm. I lean into his touch and we soon kiss.

"I've already forgiven you for that, but if it ever takes you this long to kiss me again I'll kick your sorry ass" I say and he laughs before he kisses me again.

We get out of the car and head inside. Tobias dials Jack's number and calls our friend. Within minutes Jack is in the lobby welcoming us and invites us into his office. We sit down in front of his desk and accept the tea he offered us.

"My assistant will be here in a moment to take your statements. To avoid due process violation I have to inform you that you have the right to an attorney at all times. If you waive your right to an attorney at this present time you can always hire one later in case you need one for either defending or just counseling you. You have the right to withhold your testimony until a public hearing is required. You have the right to make your statements in private or with someone present. In this case Tris for your testimony" he says to Tobias "and Four for yours" he says looking at me. "Do you understand?" he asks us.

"Yes" we answer simultaneously .

"Alright." A knock on the door announces the arrival of Jack's assistant. "Miranda, good. Come in. So, who wants to go first?" Jack asks and Tobias offers to testify first. Jack gets up and allows Miranda to sit in his place to type Tobias's testimony.

"Could you please state your name and faction?" she asks.

"Tobias Eaton, also known as Four and I'm in Dauntless."

"Status within the faction?"

"Leader."

"Marital status?"

"Not married. Yet" he says and looks my way. We both smile and Miranda asks her next question.

"Age?"

"Eighteen."

"Relationship with the victim?"

"He's my father" Tobias says coldly.

"Please, tell us what happened on the morning of October 12th of this year."

"I woke up at seven thirty. I usually get up earlier, but Tris and I were at a friend's place the night before and stayed up late. At around eight in the morning I went downstairs and made breakfast for me and my girlfriend while she was getting ready for her Council meeting. At around eight forty we left the compound and I drove her to the Hub where I left her and returned to Dauntless. I had some paperwork to file away and a meeting with the head of the control room. Later Tris came back, it was probably ten forty five a.m. maybe later when she knocked on my door and told me what happened to Marcus."

"Thank you. You refer to your father as Marcus not father or dad. Why is that?"

"My father and I don't have a good relationship. He wasn't very pleased when I decided to leave my birth-faction and join Dauntless. He also has a weird concept of how one raises children" Tobias adds bitter.

"Mr. Eaton, do you have anything to do with your father's attack?" Miranda asks.

"No."

"Have you heard anyone threaten your father?"

"No."

"Could you think of someone that would want him dead?"

"My father isn't the most pleasant person I know and I imagine he made a few enemies over the years since he is head of the City Council, but I would lie if I would say I know of someone for sure."

"Alright. Do you think that you know of someone who would do this to him?"

"At the moment I only have suspicions which I don't want to share without having evidence. Being accused of something you are innocent of is unfair and I don't want to point fingers. If however I learn of someone that was involved in this for sure I will notify the authorities immediately."

"Thank you for your honesty" Miranda says. She types some more before printing Tobias's statement. She hands him the paper to read and he does so. When he's finished and satisfied that she wrote everything he said down he signs it.

Now it's my turn. I know there's no truth serum involved this time, but I'm still very nervous. Miranda types something on the keyboard before she looks up and smiles at me.

"Please state your name and faction."

"Beatrice Prior, although now I'm known as Tris and I belong in Dauntless."

"Status within the faction?"

"Leader."

"Marital status?"

"Not married." I try not to look at Tobias, because I'm sure I would surely blush.

"Age?"

"Sixteen."

"Relationship with the victim?"

"Other than being the father of my boyfriend none on a personal level. But since he's head of the council and I'm a member we often see each other. But we don't particularly like one another."

"Could you be more specific?"

"Well, he has some very strong opinions on what we should or shouldn't do. I, for example, have tried convince the council to try out some new things to improve everyone's life here in the city. He, being the close-minded patriarch" jack-ass "dismisses everything that is even remotely close to progress. So, yeah, we don't see eye to eye. But there was never any fight verbal or otherwise" I explain.

"Thank you. Could you please tell us what happened on the morning of the attack?"

"Sure. I was running late for my nine a.m. meeting with the council. I couldn't find my keys and my loving boyfriend found it funnier to let me turn our apartment upside down than tell me that he already found them" I glance toward Tobias and he holds back a laugh. I hear Jack chuckle behind me and Miranda smiles amused in front of me. "Anyway, when I finally had everything I wanted to leave to get the train, but Four offered to drive me, since I wouldn't have made it in time. When I got there I went into the lobby and Four drove off. Inside I saw the other council members talking, all of them having serious looks on their faces. They told me what happened and we all walked to the hospital. There I met with Jack who asked me about Four's whereabouts that morning. I told him he was with me and offered to present him with video footage. After I had some new information on Marcus I left with Jack to get home and tell Four about what happened to his father. I got there around ten forty and knocked on his door. I told him everything and after some time, maybe an half hour later we both left to go to the hospital."

"Thank you. Do you know anyone who would be capable of doing this?" Miranda asks.

"Not at the present time. I will of course contact you or Jack if someone comes to my mind" I say.

"Thank you for your honesty." Miranda finishes typing and hands me a printed version of my statement. I read it and sign when I see that everything is as I said it. Miranda then makes a copy of each statement and hands them to Tobias and me. We thank her and get up.

"Wait, I need to talk to you" Jack says and we sit back down.

"What is it, Jack?" Tobias asks.

"It's about the council" he says.

"What about it?" I ask.

"What's the procedure in these situations? I mean when the head is unable to perform his duties" Jack asks looking at me. Tobias looks my way too confused.

"Chapter eleven, paragraph nine. If the head of the City Council is unable to perform his duties in a time period longer than four weeks a new head of the Council shall be elected from the existing active members" I explain.

"How do you know this?" Tobias asks stunned.

"You don't know?" Jack asks him amused. "Tris is our walking Rule Book" he says.

"I asked you to stop calling me that. Thanks to you others started to do it too" I say glaring at Jack.

"Like I could ever lie" he says laughing.

"Could someone explain this to me?" Tobias asks.

"Tris read the council Rule Book so often that she knows everything in it" Jack answers.

"Not everything" I say.

"Almost. Better?" he asks laughing.

"No, but I'll take it. Why exactly are you asking? Are there any news we haven't heard of?" I ask suddenly aware I haven't asked about Marcus in a while. I might not like him, but he is still Tobias's father.

"No change so far" Jack says more serious now. "But we can't wait for him to get better. Even if he wakes up this moment he won't be able to work for a while. We need a new council leader and soon. I wanted to know what the legal grounds in this case are."

"You do realize how ridiculous this sounds. You, a Candor, asking me, a Dauntless, about legal stuff" I ask him amused.

"Yeah, I do. So? Any input?"

"Well, I've studied the rules on this matter, for the obvious reason" I give Jack a knowing look and he nods his head "according to the rules a council leader should be elected every four years. A member within the council can be elected and re-elected several times. However, Marcus was elected once, almost twenty years ago and maintained his status without any new election. I've asked around, especially the older members and they have all confirmed it. For the past twenty years Marcus ruled the Council. It is the Council's right to keep a leader in place without new election if all parties agree to that. Given our current situation it is not just our right but our obligation to seek a new leader. The leader however needs to be from Abnegation."

"I understand. Thank you for this information, it was very helpful. I will make some phone calls but I think we should meet tomorrow to elect a new leader. All the members have to come. Four, even though you never attended a meeting before you need to be present. While under normal circumstances one representative of a faction speaks for all its leaders, you should be present tomorrow as well. Besides, your father won't be there."

"No problem. Just tell us when and we'll be there" Tobias says.

"Alright. Thank you for coming to Candor. See you two tomorrow." We shake hands and say good bye and Tobias and I are back in the parking lot in no time.

I get into the car and wait for Tobias to start the engine but he just turns to look at me. I can't really place what I see on his face. There are so many emotions flashing his features that I have a hard time naming them. I see anger, hurt, disappointment and I think jealousy. Wait. Why is he jealous? Of what?

"Honey" I ask in a low voice "what's wrong?"

"Are you and Jack always this familiar?" he asks, his anger showing. Huh, he is jealous.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask suddenly angry.

"I mean you seem so at ease with each other" he says sighing.

"Of course we are at ease. Tobias, Jack is our friend and was my ally during every council meeting. He helped me not rip your dad to pieces several times. And he's the only one on the council that is closer in age to me than anyone else. I can't believe you" I say louder and much angrier than he ever saw me. "How can you be jealous? Of Jack? You know him. And you know his girlfriend. But more importantly, you know me. Or you should know me. I would never ever cheat on you. I love you, you stupid moron" I yell and get out of the car, slamming the door. I hear the car door open again and know that he is right behind me. I keep walking, my arms crossed in front of my chest, trying to keep my tears from rolling down my cheeks.

"Tris, baby, I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me" he says, sounding pitiful. I turn around to look him in the eyes.

"Don't baby me. Have I ever given you one reason to not trust me?"

"No" he says.

"Was there ever any indication that Jack is interested in me in that way?"

"No."

"Then what the hell?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get jealous. I trust you, baby. I know that you would never cheat. And I know Jack would never try anything with you. It's just seeing you two like this, I don't know. I'm sorry, honey. I'm stupid" he says.

"Yeah, you are" I say and he hangs his head. Damn it. I already forgave him. I take a step closer and cup his face in my right palm. "But you are mine" I say and he looks at me smiling. "But I swear if you ever do this shit again I'll kick you stupid" I say and he chuckles.

"As long as you don't leave" he says smiling.

"I'm not going to leave you unless you give a damn good reason. Like hurting me."

"I swear, honey, I will never hurt you. I rather die than lay a finger on you" he vows.

"I know. But quit the shit, Tobias. You know I love you and you alone. There's no one else for me, now or ever. Jack is a good friend, maybe something like a brother. But he could never replace you, do you understand me?" I ask.

"I'm sorry. I just don't like it when guys are around you" he says, his jealousy getting the best of him.

"Are you serious? You do know where I live and work. We have more male friends and acquaintances than female. But that's not the issue. You need to trust me the same way I trust you" I say.

"I do trust you. I just don't trust them. I know you can't see it, but you're beautiful and smocking hot. And there isn't a guy in Dauntless or the city who has a pulse who doesn't think the same." I blush at his words. I never saw myself as pretty, let alone beautiful or sexy.

"I don't care about them. I'm with you and that's final. End of discussion. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am" he says and salutes.

"Good. At ease, soldier. Now drive us home. I'm starving" I say and he chuckles. He takes my hand in his and leads me back to the car. He opens the car door and lets me in, kissing the back of my hand before letting it go. He sprints to the other side and gets in as well, starting the engine and drives off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What about Tobias? Did Tris forgive him too easily?
> 
> What do you think will happen now that Marcus will be replaced as head of the City Council? Who should take his place? And what will he say if he gets out of the coma?


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Some smut ahead... :) Cause it was Valentine's Day!

24

We arrive at the compound and Tobias parks the car. I get out and take his hand in mine, leading him to the cafeteria. We enter it and see our friends sitting at our regular table. When we get there they all look up and smile.

"Wow, FourTris decided to grace us with their presence" Christina says while we sit down.

"FourTris" I ask?

"Yeah, it's your couple name" Marlene explains.

"Okay" I say emphasizing the word.

"What's new with you guys?" Tobias asks.

"Same ol', same ol'" Zeke answers.

"How are your jobs?" I ask Marlene, Christina, Lynn, Uriah and Will. Marlene started her internship to become a nurse, Lynn works with Tori in the tattoo parlor and Christina, Uriah and Will are our three newest faction ambassadors.

Christina: "It's so cool."

Uriah: "Awesome."

Will: "Interesting."

Marlene: "Rewarding."

Lynn: "Best job ever."

They all answer at once and we all burst into laughter. It's good to laugh and have some fun. We haven't had a party since after Tobias and I became leaders, almost two months ago. It's a good thing the Halloween party is coming up. Which reminds me.

"Hey guys" I say and every pair of eyes turns toward me. "There's a Halloween party coming up and I have to plan it. Since I've never celebrated Halloween before I need some help. Who wants to spend some quality time with your favorite leader?" I ask smirking.

"Hey" Tobias asks, acting all offended.

"I thought you are planning the party, not Four" Zeke says and it's my turn to be offended.

"Hey" I shout and everyone laughs. "Seriously now, who wants to help me with that?"

"I will" Christina says.

"Me too" Marlene offers.

"Would you guys want to help too" I ask Shauna and Lynn. "We haven't done anything fun together in a while. What do you say?" I ask them and they nod enthusiastically.

"What do you mean you haven't done anything fun?" Tobias asks with a raised eyebrow. "You guys meet every Tuesday and Thursday to do your girl exercises" he says and I look toward the girls who smirk at me knowingly. If the guys only knew.

"That's different. That's working out. Ah, you don't understand it" I say.

"Yeah, Four, you're just a guy" Shauna says and he looks at her surprised. "What? Don't give me that look. You and all the other guys at this table have no clue what girls want and like" she says and Zeke scoffs. "You shut up. Before I accepted your sorry ass you had no clue how to treat a girl" she says.

We listen to their bickering a while longer before Tobias and I get up to go home. I tell the girls I'll see them later in the training room and say good bye to the rest. Tobias takes my hand and leads me outside. On the stairs up to our apartment he turns to look at me and I know he wants to ask something but doesn't know how to ask.

"Just ask" I say.

"Huh?"

"You've been glancing my way the whole time. What's up, buttercup?"

"Is it true what Shauna said?" he asks and I'm taken aback.

"What?"

"You know, she said we guys have no clue about what girls like and want. Do you think the same way? About me?"

"No" I say . "Of course not. It took us both some time to learn what the other likes or dislikes, but that's normal. She was just messing with you guys." He sighs in relief and unlocks our door. He lets me enter first and I turn on the lights. I go upstairs to change into my yoga pants and some tank top to get ready for my gym date with the girls. I'm standing in front of the bed just in my underwear when Tobias comes in. He stands behind me, hugging me close to him.

"Honey, I have to get ready. The girls will be in the training room soon" I say while he kisses my neck. So much for not knowing what I like. He knows damn well what I like and what makes me weak in the knees. "Honey, come on. I have to go soon" I say but he doesn't let go of me.

"I am sorry" he finally whispers in my ear, sending a shiver through my body.

"What?" I ask confused. Why is he apologizing?

"I'm an idiot. I trust you, I swear, but sometimes I just can't stand it when guys are near you. But you are right, I know Jack and I know he cares for you, but as a friend. I've seen it with my own two eyes more than once. And I know and appreciate that he looks out for you when I'm not around. It was stupid of me" he says. I turn in his arms to look him in the eyes.

"Baby, what exactly triggered this jealousy? I mean it's not the first time we hang out" I ask wanting to know what exactly went through his head then.

"I don't know. When I saw you two having this inside jokes I felt jealous" he tells me.

"Is it possible that you were jealous more because you felt left out than because of some romantic image you created in your mind?" I ask.

"Could be. I mean we have our inside jokes and I kind of figured this is our thing" he says looking like a lost puppy. I smile at him and place a soft kiss on his lips.

"Honey, you are an idiot. I have inside jokes with a lot of people. You, the girls, Jack. Even with my mom. But they are just jokes. You are the only person in this world who knows every little secret of mine. And that will never change. And what you witnessed today in Jack's office that's not a secret inside joke. It's his way to piss me off. He knows I hate it when he calls me a walking rule book. He's just doing it to bug me. Besides the whole council knows it and some of them even copied him. But the way we talk and act around each other is the same way we do when we meet for those council meetings. It's our silent way to protest against your father. You should come and see us sometime. Actually, you can do that tomorrow."

"I will. And I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

"I've already forgiven you. Damn your adorable puppy face" I say before smacking his arm lightly. He kisses me passionately and I almost forget what I was doing. When he cups my right breast through the fabric of my sports bra I remember my meeting with the girls and push Tobias away. He looks down at me hurt but I shake my head no. "No, no, no mister. No guilt trip. You know Tuesdays and Thursdays are ladies night out. Or more appropriately ladies in the training room night. I need to go now, but I'll be home soon and you can tell me all about Halloween and all the other holidays I've missed out these past sixteen years" I say smiling.

"Alright. But don't wear yourself out, young lady, I have some special work out in mind" he says pointing towards the bed. I blush at his comment and he laughs lightly. He kiss my right cheek, then my left, the tip of my nose and my lips. "I love that I can make you blush like this" he says proud of himself.

"Shut up" I say jokingly. He lets me go and I put my clothes and sneakers on. I grab my phone and keys, kiss Tobias good bye and head down to the training room.

I open the door and find that Shauna and Lauren already arrived. They are currently working on the bags and talking about something. When I'm close enough I let them know that they aren't alone anymore.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late" I say. They both turn around and smile.

"Hey Tris" they say at the same time and laugh.

"You are not late" Lauren says.

"Yeah, the others still need to come" Shauna adds.

"So, what are we doing today?" I ask.

"Some knife throwing and then sparring. I thought we should do some strength training on Thursday, pull-ups, push-ups and maybe some jogging" Lauren suggests.

"Alright. But we already know how to throw knives" I say.

"Yeah, but can you throw with your left hand?" Shauna asks smirking. I shake my head no. "Thought so. Imagine your right hand or arm is injured. Wouldn't you want the same skill and agility in your left?" I nod my head yes.

Lauren walks over to the cabinets where the knives are stored and takes all of them out dividing them for each of us. By the time she's done Christina, Lynn and Marlene walk in. We greet each other and then walk over to the knife throwing station. We all wait for Lauren to explain us how to use our left hand.

"The principle is basically the same. We will start with the basic movement" she says and shows us without releasing the knife from her grip. She repeats the movement a few times before she actually releases the first knife. Her knife hits the target right in the middle and we all, except for Shauna who probably had seen this already, look in awe.

We all practice the movement like Lauren showed us, while she walks behind each of us correcting our stance. When we've practiced enough we start letting go of the knives. My first knife hits the board outside the lines. I pick up another knife, aim and throw it. This time I hit within the lines. When I pick up my third knife I take a deep breath, concentrate on my target, swing back and let the knife fly out of my hand while I exhale. My knife hits the center of the target and every pair of eyes in the training room is either on me or the target board.

"Congratulations Tris. I've never met anyone who could do this so quickly" Lauren praises.

"Thank you" I say proud of myself.

"You should have seen her during initiation" Christina says. "She left everyone with their mouths hanging open, including Four."

"Really? I guess you are a natural" Lauren says and I blush slightly because of the extra attention.

"You should have seen Four the first time he threw a knife" Shauna says. "He managed hitting his target eventually, but he never really liked it."

"I know. He still doesn't. He thinks it encourages recklessness, but I kind of like it. It's lethal, but you feel more in touch with a knife than a gun. It's more elegant and you can easily hide it on you" I say and Lauren nods her head in agreement.

"I don't know" Shauna says. "I like guns too."

"Me too" Lynn says. "We should shoot something sometime" she suggests.

"Maybe some other time" Lauren says.

"Could we get back to training guys" Marlene says. "I still want to manage at least hit the board before we leave."

We all get back to our stations and continue practicing. We do this for another half hour, before Shauna and I go to a ring and start sparring. I was surprised the first time we fought each other that Shauna used different fighting techniques than the ones Tobias showed us during initiation. She told me she was in the city one day, near the library and thought to check it out. She was fourteen at the time and thought it would be fun to ask if there were any books on fighting on the dusty old shelves. To her surprise the Abnegation volunteer showed her an entire row of books on fighting techniques. Since then she checked out one book after the other and learned many things from them. When we started sparring she showed us some techniques that were more suited for females. When Lauren joined our groups, about six weeks ago, Shauna and Lauren fought. Lauren is well known to be an excellent fighter, but Shauna managed to beat her. Since then Shauna and Lauren both worked on a training plan for just us girls. Lauren even considered adding these new moves to her initiation program next year. I think it will be a great thing to teach other girls how to defend themselves using a gender appropriate fighting technique.

What's great about these moves is the way you barely get hurt. It's all about balance and agility. Most of us, if not all, are weaker than the average man. Therefore Lauren asked Shauna one day if there are any fighting techniques to use your opponent's strength against him. Shauna gave her a book and a week later Lauren taught the rest of us how to use a man's strength against him, without using up all our energy. The past three weeks we learned many things and I always look mesmerized at the movements of the girls when they fight each other. It almost looks like dancing, not fighting. Shauna showed us ways to render an opponent unconscious without using our full body strength. We are a lot faster and agile than when we started. We are getting stronger every day. Even when we are at home we work out. For instance when I cook I slowly contract my abdominal muscles, which also makes my ass look better. So, a plus there. At work I sometimes lift a sack of sand with my feet while sitting in front of my computer. It's not much, but it keeps me focused. I return my attention to Shauna. We start with simple evasive maneuvers before really starting to fight each other. I think I got the upper hand when I take out to punch her in the stomach, but she avoids me back flipping and hitting my jaw with her heel. I stumble backwards and Shauna stands on her own two feet again like nothing happened. I quickly regain my posture and attack again. This time I'm quicker and manage to kick her feet from under her pinning her to the ground with my body.

"Nice one Tris" she says when I let her get up again.

"I could say the same. That really hurt" I say rubbing my jaw.

"That was great girls" Lauren says.

We all practice some more before we call it a night and each of us returns home. I unlock the door and find only darkness. I turn on the lights and head upstairs to take a shower. I get rid of my sweaty clothes leaving them on the bathroom floor and step into the shower. I turn on the water and let the warm spray hit my heated skin. I stand under it for a while forgetting the world around me. A current of cold air suddenly hits my skin and I feel two strong arms enveloping me. I lean back and enjoy Tobias's touch.

"Did you have fun with the girls?" he asks nibbling my right ear. I let out a content moan and wrap my left arm around the back of his head pulling him closer to me. While one of his hands kneads my right breast his other hand teases my clit, a long, slender finger seeking entrance into my womanhood. I part my legs for him and he pushes the digit as far as he can, eliciting a guttural moan from me.

"Not as much as I'm having now" I manage to say and I can feel him smile against my skin.

He continues his exploration of my body and I can already feel him grow bigger behind me. The fatigue from a moment ago dissipates and I'm wide awake. I turn in his arms and kiss him ferociously, startling him for a moment before he gathers his wits and lifts me up. He presses me into the tile wall and kisses his way down my throat to my pulse point where he sucks lightly he travels further down, lifting me higher and sucks on my left breast. I moan loudly and already feel the familiar heat spreading through my body.

"Tobias, please, I need you inside me" I say. He quickly gives me what I need rubbing the tip of his member over my wet entrance before burying himself deep inside me. I cry out in pleasure when his hard dick hits my G-spot and I come hard. Tobias starts thrusting quicker and quicker until I feel a new wave of pure ecstasy approaching. I bite down his shoulder to muffle another scream when I feel that I'm sliding over the edge again the same moment he comes deep within me. He thrusts a few more times emptying himself before putting me back on my feet. He is holding me tight to his body, steadying me, knowing full well that I'm unable to stand after such intense orgasms. I wrap my arms around his body pulling him even closer to me breathing in his musky scent. When my heart returns to a normal pace I start rubbing his back and kissing his chest. He tightens his arms around me and kisses the top of my head.

"I love you, baby" he says.

"I love you too, sweetie."

"I hope the girls haven't worn you out, cause there's plenty more where that came from" he says and I start laughing.

"If anyone can wear me out that's you, honey. But no worries I'm fit as a fiddle."

"Good. I have big plans for you tonight" he says. I pull away from him to look him in the eyes and see love and adoration, but his expression soon changes to worry. "What happened?" he asks panicked. "Oh God, Tris, did I do that?"

"Did what?" I ask confused. "Did you give me another hickey?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"No. Your jaw. It's bruised" he says and now I get it. Shauna hit me. Of course it would leave a mark.

"No, baby. That was Shauna. It was an accident. We were standing to close to each other and she hit me by accident. No problem there" I say trying to calm him. He's always so worried that he hurts me.

"I thought… In the heat of the moment" he starts saying but I put my finger over his lips. He kisses it softly like so many times before.

"Tobias, you would never hurt me. Intentionally or otherwise. I know you well enough and you should know this too" I say in a calm voice. "It was a stupid accident. It doesn't even hurt. Come here" I say and wrap my arms around his neck pulling him down to me and kiss him. He pulls me closer and we kiss for a while before I shiver.

"We should get out. It's starting to get cold anyway" he says and turns of the water. I step outside and the cool bathroom air hits me and I quickly take a fluffy oversized towel and wrap it around me. Tobias takes one as well but dries himself of in the bathroom and then comes naked into our bedroom. I raise an eyebrow quizzically and he just shrugs. "No point to put on clothes when my beloved girlfriend will rip them off of me" he says smirking.

"Really? I do the clothes ripping? I need to buy new underwear almost every week because you, mister, are too eager" I say with a sexy glint in my eyes.

"Well then let me rip that unflattering piece of fabric off of you, missy." He crawls over me and unwraps my towel. I now lay completely naked in front of him and let him soak in my bareness. He lowers his lips to mine making sure to not let me feel his weight, kissing me passionately. I spread my legs and wrap them around his waist pulling him closer to me. He suddenly snakes his right arm around my waist and turns us around so that I'm on top now. We part slightly and smile at each other.

"Make love to me, Tris" he says in a husky voice. I smile before kissing his lips. It starts out slowly but soon becomes wild and hungry for more. I travel down his chiseled jaw to his pulse point and suck lightly on it. I alternate the sucking with licking and biting before I continue my exploration. I kiss along his collarbone while my hands caress his firm chest in an up and down movement. I slide further down kissing his chest and nibbling on his right nipple. He lets out a guttural moan and both his nipples stand erect, just like another part of his gorgeous body. I take my time playing with them licking, biting and sucking lightly. Tobias pushes my head closer to him and I know he needs more. I travel down to his navel and stick my tongue inside it. Tobias squirms underneath me and I know that he's getting closer to a release. I don't let him wait any longer and let my index finger travel teasingly up his shaft making him shudder. I bend down and kiss the tip before opening my mouth and suck gentle on what I can get inside. I stroke the rest of it in perfect unison with my mouth increasing the speed until I feel him swell and unload in my mouth. I suck him off and release his dick with a loud "pop". I climb on top of him again and place a gentle kiss on his lips.

"I love it when you smile" I say to him. He looks deep into my eyes and smiles.

"I have all I ever wanted and beyond right here in my arms. How can I not smile?" he asks and kisses me softly.

"You up for round three?" I ask with a grin on my face.

"Insatiable, are we?" he says smirking.

"You know me best" I say.

Before I know it he's turned us around and is now on top of me. He kisses my neck and plays with a breast warming me up for our next love making session. I spread my legs and he positions himself at my entrance.

"Soft and romantic or wild and crazy?" he asks.

"Wild and crazy, please" I answer.

"That's my girl" he replies grinning.

I get up and turn around, my hands on both sides of my head, while my buttocks is up in the air. Tobias glides his hard member over my soaking entrance to lubrify himself with my juices before pushing deep inside me. I shout his name when he hits a sensitive spot. He remains still for a moment before bending over to cup a breast with one hand and playing with my clit with the other, all the while trailing soft, feather-like kisses along my spine. He finally starts an easy in and out movement increasing it ever so slightly until his relentlessly pounding my pussy and I think I died the moment one of the most intense orgasms washes over me and I cry out in pure ecstasy. He pounds a few more times before he releases his seed deep inside me and we both collapse on the oversized bed. We are both breathing heavy when Tobias slips out and I start to protest, but he lays on his side pulling me in his arms kissing me on the lips. We stay like this for while kissing and cuddling before it gets too cold and Tobias pulls the fluffy dark grey blanket over us.

"That was amazing, honey" he says.

"Yeah, it was" I say and caress his cheek. "Is it me or are we getting better and better at this?" I ask and he chuckles.

"I guess you are right" he says before kissing me again. When we part I laugh a little."What?"

"It's funny."

"What's funny?"

"I just remembered the first time I saw you. You looked so scary and serious. Not in a million years would I have believed that fierce Four is such a lovely puppy that likes to kiss and cuddle and talks about sweet, romantic things" I say and he immediately kisses my lips again.

"That's only because of you. And I'm only this lovely puppy that likes to kiss and cuddle and talks about sweet, romantic things with you" he says and we both laugh.

"I love you, baby" I say with all the love I have.

"I love you too, sweetheart" he says just as emotional.

We cuddle close to each other and sleep soon finds us both. Thankfully I have a good night's rest without an outer-body trip to the factionless sector.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: How did you like the girl time?


	25. Chapter 25

25

I wake up early the next morning and look up to find Tobias smiling down at me. He bends down and kisses me softly before slipping his tongue into my mouth. I let him explore it when he suddenly sucks lightly on my own tongue. I pull back and look at him with a smirk on my face.

"Is that a gun or are you happy to see me?" I ask and he laughs.

"I'm always happy to see you, love."

"I guess we continue our late night activities this morning as well" I say and he nods his head before kissing me passionately.

The ringing of my phone makes us break apart and Tobias groans, cursing loudly. I smile at him and then turn around to grab my phone. I look at it and see what the disturbance is all about. I put the phone back on the night stand and turn back to my now annoyed boyfriend.

"Who was it?" he asks gruffly.

"No one" I say and he raises an eyebrow. "It was a reminder. I set the alarm to remind me to go to the hospital for my shot" I explain.

"Already?" he asks. "Weren't you there just recently?"

"Three weeks ago. I have an appointment on Friday with Addison" I tell him and start playing with his curls.

"Addison?"

"Yeah, Dr. Addison Montgomery. We are getting along so well that we decided to call each other on a first name basis. She's awesome. I feel so safe and just well with her. Even though she's a complete stranger, well not so much anymore, she is so easy to talk to. I'm really glad she's my OBG."

"OBG?"

"It's short for obstetrician and gynecologist" I explain further. He only nods.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asks.

"No, it's alright. I promised Shauna I would take her. She was so impressed by what I told her about my doctor that she wants to meet her and maybe become a patient there as well."

"Alright. Take the car" he says.

"No. We'll take the train. I love jumping on and off the train."

"Alright. But if you change your mind you know where the keys are" he says and kisses my nose.

"Yeah, my sweet teddy bear" I say and he laughs whole-heartily.

"So, you up for round four?" he asks with a wide grin.

"Ready?" I ask.

"Set" he replies.

"Go" we say at the same time.

It's almost eight a.m. when we finally get out of bed and take a quick shower, no shenanigans mind you, and go downstairs to the cafeteria to eat there. We sit down at our regular table where Uriah and Marlene currently make out.

"Eww, gross" I say and they both look up.

"Hey" Uriah protests. "I never complain when you guys make out."

"I would like you to try" Tobias says in a very serious Four voice.

"Good morning Tris, Four" Marlene says.

"Morning, Mar" I say.

"Morning" comes from Tobias who is currently engaged in a stare contest with Uriah.

"Uriah, would you please quit it" Marlene says exasperatedly. It's not the first time Uriah tries to stare Tobias down. It's all fun, but Uriah always ends up on the losing side. However, he never gives up trying.

"Please, woman, let me be a man" Uriah says.

"Please, like you are a man" Zeke comments when he sits down.

"Shut up" Uriah growls at his brother.

"Would you cut the crap, kiddo. You will never stare Four down. He's Four for crying out loud" Shauna says.

"Stop messing with my mojo" Uriah scolds them.

"What mojo?" Lynn asks mockingly.

"Stare contest again?" Christina asks while sitting down next to me, Will right next to her.

"Yeah."

"For conversation sake, who's winning?" Will asks.

"Four" everyone except Uriah and Tobias say.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence" Uriah shouts at us.

"Honey, what would you like to eat?" I ask Tobias.

"Some scrambled eggs and bacon" he answers never once looking away from Uriah. "Could you pour me some coffee too?" he asks.

"Of course. How about some orange juice. It's fresh."

"Sure. Thank you, love" he says.

"You're welcome."

I set a plate full of food in front of Tobias along with a cup of coffee and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. I decide to have the same and wait for Tobias to quit this stupid game.

"Honey, could you stop now. It's not funny anymore. We all know Uriah could never beat you" I say and Uriah quickly jumps to defend himself, unfortunately for him he looks my way when he does it.

"Hey? What do you mean I couldn't beat him?" Uriah shouts.

"It means you can't beat Four" Zeke explains it to him like to a child and the rest of us start laughing.

"What's so funny?" Uriah asks all offended.

"You couldn't beat Four even if we would blindfold him" Lynn says.

"And why is that?" Uriah glares at her.

"Weren't you currently staring Four down?" Shauna asks and Uriah finally understands.

"Ugh, you guys suck" he scoffs. We all laugh even harder at his outburst.

We all eat our breakfast chatting with each other about the upcoming Halloween party. Tobias never got to tell me about it yesterday but promised he would take some time today. We finish up eating and each one of us go to work. I let Tobias lead me into his office where we sit down and he tells me everything about Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and a few Dauntless-only holidays. I take notes and decide to go to the library in the city to check out some books on all these holidays to be more informed. When I think I have learned everything I could from him I get up when his phone rings. He answers it and from what he's saying I understand he is talking to Jack. They seem to come to an understanding and Tobias hangs up.

"That was Jack" he says and I nod. "He called us to tell us that we are needed at the Hub at two p.m. today. Do you have any appointments then?"

"I have to check. If I have I will reschedule them all for another day. The matter we need to discuss is more important and urgent right now."

"I agree. Let's get some work done before lunch" he suggests. I kiss him on the lips and go to my office.

I check my calendar and see that I had an appointment scheduled with Walsh at three p.m. and another appointment with Ms. Aubrey at four p.m. I call them both and ask them if they could make it sometime before lunch or if they prefer another day. Mr. Walsh agrees to come and see me at ten a.m., but Ms. Aubrey tells me she's expecting a major delivery from Amity. We reschedule our meeting and decide that Thursday after lunch is good for both of us.

I get started on some paper work and completely forget the time when I hear a knock on my door. I tell the person on the other side to enter and see Mr. Walsh entering my office.

"Mr. Walsh, thank you for coming" I say and offer him a seat in front of my desk. He sits down and places a thick folder on the desk.

"I have here the balance you asked and also a schooling program for potential new accountants" he says handing me two thick files.

"Thank you. Let's go over the balance and let me look over the program later" I say.

"Of course."

For the next two hours Walsh explains every entry and every exit of this year, telling me about irregularities during spring time and early summer. He said he discovered that some employees got more points than others even though they had same or lower paying jobs than their coworkers. I ask him to investigate the matter further and report back to me as soon as he finds something. He agrees and before I know it someone knocks at my door.

"Come in" I say. Tobias pokes his head inside and I signal him to enter my office. He sits down on the couch and lets me finish. "Thank you, Mr. Walsh. Please, contact me when you have some news. And I think it's needless to say that this needs to stay between these four walls" I say and he nods in understanding. We shake hands and he turns around and is a little startled to see Tobias.

"Four, I'm sorry, I haven't seen you" he apologizes.

"It's alright, Mr. Walsh. Have a nice day" Tobias says, practically kicking Walsh out with his statement.

"Good bye" Walsh says, before closing the door behind him.

"That wasn't very nice" I say walking over to where he is sitting. He offers me his hand and I take it. He pulls me down on his lap and kisses me the moment I'm close enough. When we pull apart he rests his forehead against mine and looks deep into my eyes.

"Have I told you that I love you today?" he asks smiling.

"No."

"I love you."

"I love you too." We kiss again softly, making sure to not ignite a fire that we both know can't be put down other than with hot office sex and we so don't have the time for that. "I need to tell you something" I say and he furrows his eyebrows.

"Work?"

"Yeah." I get up and grab the file Walsh left for me to study further. "This is the balance I asked for. Walsh explained in detail every entry and exit and told me about some irregularities. Apparently, some employees got more points than necessary. I asked him to investigate further. We need a list of all the people who got more points than the job offered and find out why. Any ideas?"

"No. Did it happen all year long?"

"It's hard to say. Walsh only brought me a preliminary and very general balance. We need to investigate further. I think it's best if we involve all the major branches to check for these kind of irregularities. Maybe it's just a system failure. But if not than this means that someone committed fraud. Question is who?"

"You are right. We need to get to the bottom of this. Please keep me posted on the development" he says serious.

"Of course. I will. I will talk to the rest of the staff to do a preliminary financial check of their respective branch."

"That's a good idea. I'll help you call them."

We both start calling everyone on our staff informing them what we need from them. We do not tell them however of the irregularities, this is something that still needs investigating and it's too delicate to talk about it on the phone. It doesn't take us long and we manage to talk to each one of them. By the time we're done it's 12:45 p.m. We decide to go to lunch. Tobias takes my hand and leads me out. I lock the door behind us and we go to the cafeteria. The cafeteria staff outdid themselves again. In front of us sits a delicious looking tray with roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy and for dessert, how else, a huge Dauntless cake. We both fill our plates and dig in. I don't know if I'm hungry or the smell of the food is just too delicious but I practically lick my plate clean. I'm so full I swear I can't take another bite. Tobias takes a slice of Dauntless cake and offers me a spoonful, but I decline it. I'm sure if I would take another bite I will explode. I look at my watch and read 1:27 p.m. I show it to Tobias and we both excuse ourselves. We hurry to the garage and get into the SUV.

Fortunately we arrive at the Hub ten minutes before two p.m. It's a good thing to have a car. If we would have taken the train we would have been late for sure. Tobias parks the car and we both get out at the same time. He walks around the car and grabs my hand. We walk inside and head toward the conference room. To my surprise we aren't the last ones to arrive. I can't see Johanna or anyone else from Amity. And Jack isn't here either. We walk up to my dad and greet him.

"Hi dad" I say.

"Hello sweetheart" he says and hugs me.

"Hello Andrew" Tobias says behind me.

"Hello son" my dad says and lets go of me to hug Tobias.

"I see we are not the last ones to arrive" I say.

"No. Johanna and Jack are still missing. But they should be here any minutes" dad says.

"You have any news on Marcus?" I ask.

"No. He's still in a coma, but according to his doctor he is slowly recovering."

"Alright" I say.

"Did you visit him?" my dad asks Tobias.

"Only on Monday. I feel bad for him. I don't wish him to die, but I can't go back and pretend that everything is alright" Tobias says in a low voice so that no one can hear us.

"I understand. I asked the doctor to call me if something happens."

"Thank you, Andrew. I really appreciate your help in all this" Tobias says smiling.

"Don't mention it, son. You are part of the family now and even though you and your father don't have a good relationship right now he is still your father and I'm glad that you care enough for him to ask if he's doing well" my dad says patting his shoulder.

"I really appreciate all you do for me. The fact alone that you allow me to be with Tris is more than I could've ever asked for. But you treat me so much better than just Tris's boyfriend. You treat me like a son and to be honest if it wouldn't have been for you I would have never known what a father looks like. So thank you very much for accepting me into your family" Tobias says emotion thick in his voice.

"That was so sweet, honey" I say and kiss his cheek.

"Listen to me and listen carefully" my dad says looking serious right now. "I don't treat you the way I do because of Beatrice. I could see from the first moment that you love my daughter and I know she's safe and protected with you. But I really care for you. The reason why I call you son is because I consider you like my own."

"Eww, dad, gross. He isn't my brother" I say and make a disgusted face. Both dad and Tobias laugh.

"I didn't mean it like that. But as Tobias already said it he will marry you one day and I will be honored to give my daughter to such a fine young man like he is." I look at Tobias and he has tears in his eyes. I turn my gaze toward my dad and he is teary as well.

"That's so sweet. The two most important men in my life love each other. But for the record he" I say pointing toward my dad "has nothing to say when it comes to me dating or not. And you" I turn to look at my dad "can love Four as a son as much as you want, but I'm a person not an object. Just because he said he would ask for my hand doesn't mean you can give me away. That's my decision and mine alone."

"You don't want to get married?" both dad and Tobias ask.

"Maybe. I'll have to think about it" I say and walk away to talk to Daniel who waved me over. I imagine my guys are looking stunned after me. Of course, I want to get married and obviously I want to marry Tobias. But there's no reason for them to decide my life. God, what has a girl to do around here to be taken seriously?

"Hello Tris" Daniel says.

"Hello Daniel. How are you today?" I ask politely.

"I'm fine. Thank you. Jack called us yesterday about the council leadership problem. I guess you know about it too" he says and I nod. "I checked the law on this matter and found something interesting."

"What?"

"We have the opportunity to kick Marcus out for good" he says. Since Tobias's interrogation at least my dad and the three other Abnegation members present started hating Marcus for what he did and all the lies he told people over the years. For a while I thought I was the only one who disliked Marcus, but for the past two months I've learned that he stepped on more toes around here than necessary. He's always acting like he knows everything and rarely listens to other people's problems or suggestions. Not very selfless of him.

"Really? How?"

"For the past twenty years we never elected anyone else to be head of the City Council neither was he re-elected, he just continued his leadership like nothing."

"I know" I say and Daniel looks at me startled.

"You did? How?"

"I don't want to encourage this but walking rule book" I say pointing toward myself and using Jack's stupid nickname for me. Daniel chuckles.

"Yeah, I almost forgot about that" he says. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Really? Like I don't have enough problems with Marcus as it is" I say and Daniel nods in understanding.

"We'll see what we can do. Look, the last people missing just arrived" he says and I see a group of Amity and Candor walk in. I walk back to my dad and Tobias and sit down. When everyone calms down Daniel speaks up so that everyone can hear him.

"As you all know our Council leader Marcus Eaton was attacked on Monday morning and is currently in critical condition in the hospital. It was brought to the council's attention that given the situation a change in leadership is required. I've studied the law on this matter and I have a few things to say to you. According to the General Rule Book of the City Council a leader is elected once every four years. He needs to be Abnegation member and have the city's best interest at heart regardless of his Abnegation background. It is the council's right to keep one leader in place for several years without official elections, however an election is necessary by the active council members. As far as I can tell, and I have been on this council just as long as Marcus, there was never a re-election or any kind of vote other than the first one almost twenty years ago. It is our right, even without the current circumstances, to seek new leadership if the council sees it fit. Usually, every active member, meaning all of you who are part of the permanent council and attend every or most meetings, are asked first and your testimony has more to say than those of your fellow leaders. But in this case it's unnecessary to voice an opinion on Marcus Eaton's performance as City Council Leader, since he is incapacitated right now and can't perform his legal obligations toward the city and its inhabitants. I therefore move forward and ask if there is anyone among you who wishes to become our next leader." Daniel remains silent for a while looking toward the Abnegation in the room waiting for someone to stand up. No one does. "I understand. I nominate Mr. Andrew Prior to become our new City Council Leader" he says and I look toward my father. He looks shocked and speechless.

"I second it" I hear Jonah say.

"Alright. Anyone else wants to nominate someone?" he asks and waits for someone to say something but again there's only silence.

"Alright. Mr. Andrew Prior was proposed to be our new Council Leader. All in favor please raise your hand" he says and I raise mine. I look around and almost the entire room raises their hands. "Good. Anyone against it?" I look around no one raises their hands. "Who's abstaining?" A few hands shot up. "Alright. Andrew, you have been proposed and chosen by this council to lead us. Will except this duty and honor?" Daniel asks. My dad stands up and bows his head toward Daniel.

"With respect, I accept" he says and I start applauding, followed closely by several other council members.

It takes a while before the people gathered here calm down. Daniel asks my dad to step into the center of the room and takes out a Bible and the City Council Rule Book. He holds the Rule book in his right hand and the Bible in his left. My father places his left hand on both books and takes his sacred oath to follow the rules of the council, to think of the city first, to protect and nurture all its inhabitants, to be fair and just, to listen to everyone's problems and find peaceful solutions, to work with each member of the council as if he or she would be part of his family to improve everyone's life in our city.

"I swear to that" my dad says finishing his vow.

We all applaud and when this small ceremony is over I rush in the middle of the room and hug my dad tightly. When I let go of him Tobias gives him a hug too, only for not as long as I did. After Tobias Jack shakes my dad's hand, followed by Johanna and Samantha, as well as Daniel, Jonah and Michael. One by one every person on the council congratulates my dad and wish him all the best, while offering him their support the same time.

"Please, everyone take a seat" my dad says and we all sit back down. "I want to thank you again for your trust and support and promise to do my very best as the new head of the council. I won't keep you here any longer since I know that all of you are tired and have many things to handle within your factions. I think it will be best to resume the council's activity next Monday. Everything that was on the agenda for our last meeting shall be resumed and discussed. We will meet here on Monday at nine a.m. Thank you and have a nice day" he says and dismisses the council.

After everyone except Daniel, Jonah, Michael, my dad, Tobias and me are left I approach my dad again and give him another hug.

"I'm so glad that you are the new leader" I say.

"Did you have anything to do with this?" my dad asks.

"No. I was just as surprised as you were when Daniel nominated you" I say.

"Are you sure? I know how much you dislike Marcus, not just because of Four" my dad says.

"What do you mean, Andrew?" Tobias asks in his Four voice. "Did he say something to you?" he asks looking at me.

"No, not really."

"You're lying" he says.

"What? No."

"Andrew?"

"He never was disrespectful, at least not in public" my dad says.

"How about in private?" Tobias inquires.

"Neither" I answer, but Tobias looks at my dad.

"He never said anything at least not while I was around. But he made sure to never listen to Beatrice's ideas and quickly dismiss them. I stayed out of it because she is my daughter and I didn't want anyone to think that I supported her ideas because of that. Also I promised her I would stay out of it, that I would let her fight her own battles" my dad explains.

"You should have seen her a few times yelling at Marcus" Jack says from the door and coming inside.

"You yelled at Marcus?" Tobias asks shocked.

"During a meeting" Daniel says with a chuckle.

"What did she call him?" Michael asks.

"A jack-ass" Jack answers.

"No. That's not accurate. She called him a closed-minded patriarch with the sensibility of a cement block" Jonah quotes me.

"She also said jack-ass, but not loud enough for the entire room to hear" Jack adds and they all laugh except dad, Tobias and me.

"What exactly happened. You don't usually lose your temper like this?" Tobias asks intrigued.

"I wanted to bring up a real problem and find some solutions, but Marcus being the dick he usually is didn't even let me finish my first phrase" I say and I hear my dad clear his throat. He doesn't like that I curse. "Sorry, dad."

"What problem?" Tobias asks.

"Faction before blood" I answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So what do you think of Andrew being the new head of the city council?
> 
> What is that Tris has against Faction before blood?
> 
> Stay tuned to find out more :)
> 
> Also, a small reminder. I update every other day, unless I experience technical problems or some other shit. But I try to bring every chapter to at least 3800 or 4000 words so that I make up for any kind of delay.
> 
> See you guys soon and review.
> 
> xoxo
> 
> Cloakseeker


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the chapter. Lots of fluff and smut ;P

26

"Faction before blood?" Tobias asks.

"Yeah."

"I need a little more" he says.

"It's a stupid concept. It might have worked a hundred years ago, but not anymore. How the hell can you have faction before blood?" I ask.

"Well, the principle behind it is that once a depended chooses a faction and it happens to be another faction than the one his parents belong too, than he shall put the faction before his blood" Jonah explains and I roll my eyes at him.

"I know that. But it is only applied to transfers. Why should I, as a transfer, suffer and never see my parents again just because I've chosen Dauntless. For me personally Dauntless was the right choice and I don't regret it. But that doesn't mean I stopped loving my parents. It's easier for a person who chooses to stay in his or her faction of birth. For those people faction before blood means nothing, but for transfers it means you act against the law if you stay in contact with your family. Those visitation days once or twice a year are a joke. How can my relationship with my parents determine if I'm loyal or not to my chosen faction? It's bull. And not just that. We all depend on each other, all the factions. There isn't one that's more important than the other. My question is why create problems instead of reinforcing existing bonds? If we can co-exist and work together on the council so could others" I say.

"How about you present this idea of yours during the next meeting" my dad says.

"Really?" I ask hopeful.

"Yes. It is your right to be heard on this matter and we will discuss and decide together if it's in the city's best interest or not" he says. I nod at him but I could literally jump up and down. Finally I'll be able to voice my opinions and be heard, without hearing some misogynist remark from an asshole like Marcus.

"Thank you. I will prepare a presentation that will blow your minds" I say excited.

"I prefer mine intact, thank you very much" Jack says and we laugh.

"Alright. Let's go home" my dad says. We all walk out of the conference room and into the lobby. My dad grabs my hand and I turn to look at him. "I almost forgot. Your mother wanted me to invite you two for lunch on Sunday, if it's alright with you" he says smiling.

"Of course" I say.

"I'm looking forward to it. It's been too long" Tobias says. We offer to drive dad back home, but he refuses saying he wants to take a walk thinking of this new development in his professional life. We say good bye and head to our car.

"Is it a bad thing to say that I'm glad that my dad is the new council leader?" I ask.

"No. Andrew will make a fine leader. He is honest and selfless, just and he cares for people's opinions and doesn't impose his own point of view" Tobias says reassuringly.

"Yeah, but he's a leader now because your dad got shot" I say looking out the window.

"Tris, I think people had enough of Marcus Eaton. They would have elected Andrew regardless. Trust me."

"You're probably right" I say sighing.

"Is something else on your mind?" he asks glancing my way.

"Until now I had Marcus to worry about, but now I have to worry about everyone on the council" I say looking toward him.

"What do you mean?" he asks confused.

"What if they don't like my ideas? What if they too think it's stupid? I could have handled it from Marcus, but not the rest" I say defeated.

"Baby, what are you talking about? You heard your dad. They are willing to listen to you. If you truly believe in what you are saying make them see the same thing you saw that made you think of a solution in the first place. You'll be fine. I promise" he says and I manage a half smile.

"Thanks. Would you mind listening to my presentation?" I ask.

"Sure. Just tell me when and I'll squeeze you in between two appointments" he jokes.

"Tobias."

"I'm kidding. How about you practice your speech with me tonight after supper and I can tell you if you convinced me or not. You can then improve your speech and we can even ask our friends to listen and share their thoughts."

"That'll be great. Thank you" I say leaning closer and kissing his cheek.

"Oh no, young lady. That's not good enough" he says.

"What?"

"If you want to thank me you need to do more" he says while driving into the garage.

"More? Like what?" I ask smirking.

"A friendly kiss on the cheek is not enough" he says parking the car.

"Really?"

"Yes. If you want my help you need to do better in convincing me" he says pulling the keys out of the ignition.

"I thought I had your unconditional help anyways" I say raising an eyebrow.

"Hon, we're talking business here" he says in a serious voice.

"Alright, Mr. Businessman, what did you have in mind?"

"We'll start out with a kiss right here" he points toward his lips, but before he can continue I straddle his lap and start kissing him passionately. When breathing becomes an issue we pull apart and I smile at him.

"How's that?" I ask.

"Not bad, but you didn't let me finish" he says.

"I'm not going to have sex with you in the car" I say.

"Damn" he replies. I raise an eyebrow at him and he starts laughing. "I'm kidding. I actually wanted to ask you for a massage" he says.

"Really?"

"Yeah. My back is killing me. Could you do that for me?" he asks.

"Baby, you just need to ask you don't have to make a business deal out of it" I say kissing his lips softly.

"I know. I thought it would be fun, though."

"It was. Come on. Let's get home and I'll give you a massage. I'm done working for today."

"Me too. But you need to get off of me first" he says with a chuckle.

"Alright." I kiss the tip of his nose and get off of his lap, open the car door and get out. Tobias holds out his hand for me and we walk back home smiling.

"I'll go take a quick shower" he says the minute we are home. I only nod at him and walk into the kitchen to get a drink. It's still early for supper so I decide to go upstairs and change into some comfortable clothes. Thankfully our apartment is heated and I put on some black shorts and a dark-grey tank top with the Dauntless symbol in the front. I think of walking into the bathroom to retrieve my cinnamon body lotion when Tobias steps out completely naked. I let my eyes soak in his perfect appearance and smile when I see his engorged manhood.

"Like what you see?" he asks towel drying his hair.

"Mhmm" I answer.

"Good. But we only have one problem here" he says almost seriously.

"What problem?" I inquire.

"I'm naked and you're not" he says.

"Well I'm not the one who took a shower" I state and get up to go into the bathroom. He grabs my hand and pulls me close to him, pressing his still wet body to mine.

"I want you" he whispers in my ear in a husky voice sending a shiver throughout my body.

"I thought you wanted a massage" I say pulling away enough to meet his eyes.

"That too. Don't you want me?" he asks with a small pout.

"Baby, there's not a minute of the day I don't want you" I say pressing myself closer to him and he groans when I rub myself against his erect member. "Let me spoil you" I say and extract myself from his grip. I walk into the bathroom swaying my hips and get the body lotion from the shelf. I walk back out and Tobias is still standing in front of our bed towel drying his hair. "Bed. Now" I command and he obliges. He lays down on his back and smirks up at me. "What are you doing?" I ask.

"What do you mean? You said bed, now. I'm on the bed. Now" he says smiling.

"Turn around on your stomach. Let me massage you first" I say and he nods albeit reluctantly.

I wait for him to turn around and then sit on his buttocks. I lean forward and kiss my way down his spine. I pour a generous amount of lotion into my hands and rub them for a few seconds making sure they are warm enough before I place them on his shoulder blades. I start rubbing the lotion into his back, covering every bit of exposed skin. When I'm satisfied that his skin absorbed the moisture I start kneading his back muscles, working out all the knots that have been bothering him. I give special attention to his neck, since I've noticed he often snaps it and the sound of it just creeps me out. Sometimes it's so loud I'm afraid he might actually hurt himself. I continue massaging first his right arm, then switch to the left. When I'm done I thoroughly knead his lower back and continue further south to his legs. I avoid his buttocks on purpose knowing that my action would only ignite a fire. I need him to relax right now, not get overly excited. There's time for that later. When I'm finally done I lean forward and kiss his cheek. I look at his face and see that he has fallen asleep. Good. He needs his rest. I look at my watch and see that it's past four p.m. I decide to take a nap as well and cover us with our fluffy blanket. The moment I close my eyes I'm out.

When I open them again I look into Tobias's dark blue ones and smile brightly. He leans down and kisses me with fervor. When he glides his tongue across my lips I part them and he aggressively pushes his tongue inside my mouth mating it with mine. He rolls over me covering me with his naked body and I feel an intense heat rise from my center toward my extremities threatening to consume me. I run my hands up and down his tattooed back, scratching him lightly with my fingernails. We pull apart to take deep breaths and Tobias rests his forehead on mine.

"You let me fall asleep" he says panting.

"You looked so peaceful. I figured you needed your rest" I say breathing heavy.

"I really wanted to make love to you" he says pouting. I caress his cheek and he leans into my touch.

"There's plenty of time. I'm not going anywhere" I say and he kisses me softly.

"I know. I love you."

"I love you too. What time is it?" He lets go of me and stretches to grab his phone from the nightstand.

"Past six p.m. You wanna go to the cafeteria?" he asks.

"No. Let's have supper here. What sounds good?" I ask.

"How about we make some pasta? We haven't had that in a while" he suggests.

"Sure. You want to help me?"

"Sure. I'll put on some pants though" he says and I smile.

"Yeah, you should."

We get out of bed and Tobias puts on some sweat pants. He wants to walk out of our bedroom but I stop him. He looks down into my eyes with a quizzical look in his and I point toward his feet. He only shrugs.

"What?" he asks.

"Put on some shoes" I say.

"I'm fine, baby. I'm not cold."

"Put on some shoes or I'll kick your ass, mister" I say putting my hands on my hips.

"I'm fine."

"You'll get a cold" I say. "Please, put them on. And a shirt too."

He walks over to his dresser and pulls out a tee shirt and gets into his house shoes. We walk downstairs and go into the kitchen where we start making dinner. It's always fun to do it together, although it takes a lot longer since we're never able to keep our hands off of each other. But none of us really minds that. While I look over the pasta I prepare a light salad and Tobias makes the tomato-basil sauce. I decide to make him a chocolate pudding since he likes it so much and none of us was in the mood to head downstairs to the cafeteria to get some Dauntless cake. When the pasta is done I take it off the stove and set two plates on the kitchen island and wait for Tobias. We eat our meal almost in silence when my phone suddenly rings. I get up and walk to the coffee table where I've left it earlier and answer it.

"Hey Tris" I hear Christina's voice.

"Hey Christina. What's up?"

"You and Four okay?"

"Yeah. Why?" I ask.

"We've missed you guys at supper."

"We decided to eat at home."

"Oh, alright. You guys wanna come on a date with us?" she asks.

"Who's us?"

"Will and me, Uriah and Marlene and Shauna and Zeke" she answers.

"Hang on" I say and put my hand over the phone to block the sound. "Honey, are you in the mood to go on a group date?" I ask and he furrows his eyebrows. Thought so. "I'm sorry, Christina, we are kind of tired. Rain check?"

"Sure. Have a nice evening you two" she says and hangs up.

"What was that all about?" Tobias asks when I sit back down.

"Chris invited us to go on a date with the others. I think our friends miss us. We should do something together sometime" I say and he nods while eating his pasta. When we're done I get up and start cleaning up but Tobias takes the dishes from my hands and puts them into the dishwasher. "I could have done it" I say chuckling.

"I know, but I wanted to do it. Is the pudding ready?" he asks, his eyes sparkling.

"Let me check. If you eat it while it's hot you might get a stomach ache" I say laughing lightly at his impatience. I check to see if it's alright and even though it's still warm I put a bowl in front of him and he licks it clean. "Did you like it?" I ask laughing.

"It was delicious!" he says putting his bowl in the dishwasher. "Thank you for making it for me" he says kissing me lightly on the lips.

"You're welcome" I say before grabbing his hand and pulling him to me. He looks at me confused and I stand on the tip of my toes and kiss the right corner of his mouth. Before I can pull back he places his left arm around my waist and his right hand on the back of my head keeping me in place and kissing me passionately. I wrap my arms around his neck and he lifts me up to sit me down on the island. I wrap my legs around his waist and let my tongue mate with his. We stay like this for a while before none of us can take it anymore. I lift my arms and Tobias pulls the tank top over my head tossing it on the floor. He immediately kisses my right breast and starts sucking on it lightly, while kneading the left one. I moan loudly and let my head fall back enjoying every moment. When he finds that he played enough with one breast he switches to the other giving it the same attention. I feel the pleasure building rapidly, but I want to enjoy this as much as possible. I pull back slightly and grab his shirt pulling it off of him and letting it land on the floor. I hold his head in my hands kissing him ferociously. I find it very difficult to explore his body from where I'm sitting and decide to jump off the island. I turn us around so that Tobias is now leaning against the island and I stand in front of him kissing his neck and collarbone, while letting my hands roam over his upper body. I kiss my way down his torso sucking and biting lightly each of his erect nipples before diving further and pulling his pants with me on my way down. I smirk when I see his erect manhood in front of me and place my right hand gently over the hard, pulsating member eliciting a gasp from him. I lean forward and kiss the sensitive tip and hear Tobias draw in a lungful of air. I open my mouth and stick my tongue out licking him from the base to the tip and backwards, filling him with my saliva. When he's wet enough I open my mouth as wide as I can and take in as much of him as my small mouth can accommodate, before starting to suck on him. I start a slow agonizing pace driving him mad, but I know it's what he likes. What we both like. I increase the speed ever so slightly when he suddenly places his hand over my head pushing me closer, but making sure not to hurt me. I increase my speed even further and feel him swell in my mouth. I suck harder on him and play with his testicles when he explodes inside my mouth. I swallow his load while rubbing both his legs, calming him after the intense orgasm he just experienced. I stand back up and Tobias holds me close to him since my legs seem to give out on me.

"That was fucking amazing, Tris" he says breathlessly and I blush a little. "Your turn" he says slipping out of both shoes and his pants and lifts me up, holding me close to him with his strong arms. He walks us to the couch and lays me on my back. He kisses me passionately and leaves me panting when he starts removing my shorts and panties. He tosses them on the floor and kisses my womanhood. "Sit up" he commands and I oblige. I sit down on the couch and he kneels in front of me. He grabs my hips and pulls me closer to the edge, opening my legs and placing each on one of his shoulders. He bends forward and starts licking my entrance. My breathing is now rapid and erratic and I feel every nerve ending like it's on fire. When Tobias nibbles on my sensitive bundle of nerves I almost come undone and toss my head back in pure pleasure. He continues with this special treatment and inserts his right middle finger into my depths. He starts a leisurely in and out pace when I say "more" and he inserts a second finger, increasing the pace at the same time. I feel the familiar tension build and know that I'm close. I start chanting "more, faster, deeper, harder" and he the ever obedient lover obliges inserting a third digit while frantically pounding my pussy, while licking and nibbling my clit. The pleasure is building exponentially and I feel like digit when an intense pleasure wave washes over me and I come hard on his hand. He keeps thrusting into me while I ride out my orgasm before retracting his fingers and standing up. I'm panting heavily unable to see clear through the fog of these intense emotions. Tobias sits down next to me and pulls me into his lap. My head is now resting on his right shoulder, while my legs are stretched out on his left side. Tobias holds me with his right arm, cradling my head like a mother would with an infant, all the while he's running his left hand up and down my legs. I'm still trying to catch my breath when Tobias kisses my cheek and then my lips. We kiss softly for a while just enjoying the closeness. But the moment he slips his tongue into my mouth I know that I want more. So much more. I reposition myself straddling now his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck pulling him closer to me and deepening our kiss. I start rocking back and forth on his already hardening member and lift myself enough for him to place his cock at my entrance. When I sit back down I take him fully in and gasp at the intense feeling of our position. I start a slow back and forth movement until I can't hold back anymore and start lifting myself up on his shaft. I lift myself almost off of him when I glide back down. I repeat the movement several times before Tobias takes a hold of my hips and helps me lifting myself up while thrusting in perfect unison. In a matter of minutes I ride him like it's the last time ever and before I even know it I come again and again, while Tobias pistons into me like there's no tomorrow. We come together and cry out each other's name forgetting the world around us. I collapse over him and he holds onto me for dear life. I'm still recovering from our last encounter when I feel him swell again.

"My, my, someone's really excited today" I say pulling back smiling.

"I'm always excited when it comes to making love to you" he says smiling brightly.

"It was a good thing we declined going out. I'm sure I wouldn't have enjoyed myself the way I did right now, at home."

"Yeah. You know what's better?" I shake my head no. "That we don't have any neighbors. I think we would annoy the shit out of them" he says laughing and I realize we are kind of loud when we have sex. I blush a little but nod in agreement.

"You know what I would like?" I ask and he shakes his head. "A bath. Would you take a bath with me? The tub is big enough for both of us. What do you say?"

"I think it's a great idea. I never had sex in a tub" he says grinning and I smack his arm lightly.

"I actually meant to just take a bath, relax and just enjoy it" I say.

"No sex?" he asks pouting. I laugh at the face he makes.

"We can continue afterwards. Come on. I have those aromatherapy candles Marlene gave us as a house warming gift. Maybe it's time to put them to good use. What do you say?"

"Alright" he says and stands up, me still wrapped around him. When I try to get off of him he just pulls me closer. "Nah-ah, babe. I'll carry you upstairs" he says and starts walking toward the stairs.

"Honey I'm heavy. I can walk" I say.

"Heavy as a feather. I swear if I wouldn't see you eat I would think you live of air and love alone" he says and we both laugh. He climbs up the stairs, me still wrapped around him, and walks us into the bathroom. He puts me down and while I retrieve the candles from the shelve he lets the warm water run into the tub.

"How about some bubble bath?" I ask and he nods. "Which one?"

"You choose."

"How about orange?" He nods and I pour some of the deliciously smelling liquid into to water stream.

Soon the tub is full of water and covered by a fluffy foam blanket. Tobias gets in first while I light the candles and place them all around the bathroom to create a romantic ambiance. I turn of the light and climb into the tub as well, leaning against Tobias's chest.

"This is nice" he says while playing with my breasts.

"Yeah. The bath is nice too" I say with a chuckle. We lay back enjoying our time together, touching each other lightly, making sure not to ignite the passion again. It's too peaceful to start something right now.

"We should do this more often" he says after a while.

"Yeah. Let's try and do this at least once a week or every two weeks, depending on our mood" I suggest.

"Yeah, but how about we just surrender to the moment. No planning. In my experience the more you plan the less you get what you want" he says and I agree.

We stay like this a while longer before the water starts cooling down. I get out and grab my fluffy bathrobe off the hook behind the door and hand Tobias his. We clean up after ourselves and then walk into the bedroom and just lie on the bed smiling at each other like two goofballs. Tobias wraps me into his arms and starts playing with my hair, lulling me to sleep.


	27. Chapter 27

27

When I wake up it's dark outside. Tobias is sleeping. I try to get out of his embrace to go to the bathroom. I almost manage to get up without waking him, but the moment I sit up he wakes with a start. He looks around confused and I feel like punching myself.

"Tris?" he asks, sleep thick in his voice.

"Yeah, baby?"

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. I just need to use the bathroom. I'll be right back. Go back to sleep" I say and hurry to the bathroom. I'm in and out in less than two minutes and decide to take my bathrobe off. It's so warm in here that I can barely breathe. I let the thick robe fall down and climb into bed. I snuggle close to Tobias and let him wrap me into his arms.

"Are you naked?" he asks surprised.

"Yeah. It's so hot in here" I say yawning.

"It is" he says. "Maybe I should take off my robe as well" he says and I can hear him grinning. He lets go of me and quickly discards his own robe sliding back next to me completely naked. He wraps his arms around me and starts kissing my temple, my cheek, my nose, my lips. When I open my mouth he sticks his tongue inside and starts dancing with mine. We kiss leisurely but when I can't breathe anymore I pull back.

"What's wrong?" he asks alerted.

"I couldn't breathe anymore" I say taking in a lungful of air.

"Are you okay, honey? You seem a little warm to me" he says sitting up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The robe just warmed me up" I say snaking my arm around his neck and pulling him down for another kiss. After a while he gives in and we resume our little mid-night making out session.

Tobias lets his right hand glide over my body, touching it lightly and eliciting moans from me. He kisses my throat and sucks lightly at my pulse point and I feel a warmth between my legs. I let my arms travel up and down his back pulling him closer to me. We end up making love twice before we fall back to sleep happy in each other's arms.

When I wake up again I am alone in our bed. I sit up, pulling the sheets around me and rub my eyes to fully wake me up. I wonder where Tobias is when I see him enter our bedroom with a tray full of food in his hands.

"You are up" he says smiling.

"Just woke up" I say. "Did you make me breakfast in bed?" I ask smiling at him and holding out my hands to grab the tray, allowing him to slide in next to me.

"For the both of us" he answers and takes the tray from me. I look over it and see pancakes with strawberry sauce and whipped cream, two mugs of steamy coffee and some fresh orange juice. And one single red rose. Tobias picks it up and hands it to me. I take it smiling and kiss his cheek. He's such a softy when it's just the two of us. I think if I would ever tell people that fearless and sometimes scary Four is such a romantic they would never believe me. Heck, they would think I've lost my mind. I chuckle at that thought. "What is it?" he asks.

"I just thought of what people would say if I told them what a romantic you are. They would probably think I've lost my mind" I say and laugh a little. "Don't worry. This stays between us" I assure him.

"Thought so. Here try this" he says holding out a forkful of pancakes with sauce. I take it in my mouth and moan loudly.

"This is delicious" I say with my mouth half full. I grab a mug and sip a little coffee to wake me up. We continue eating and having small talk enjoying each other's company. "What made you do this?" I ask.

"Nothing in particular. I just woke up and thought of doing this. We never tried it out, but we can definitely repeat this. I enjoy eating breakfast in bed, but more importantly I enjoy the view" he says smirking and I furrow my eyebrows not understanding what he means. He nods his head toward me and I look down on myself and see that the sheet that was covering me fell down and exposed my chest. Two months ago this would have embarrassed me to no end, but after living together and making love every chance we get I couldn't care less if my boyfriend sees me naked or not. Well, I do care, but it's not bothering me.

"Perv" I say shrugging. He starts laughing loudly and I soon join in.

We finish eating and while Tobias takes the tray downstairs I jump into the shower and make sure not to take too long. I'm in and out in less than ten minutes. When I return to our bedroom I find Tobias sitting on the bed naked.

"Don't tell me you are up to something" I say taking in his perfect body.

"As much as I want to throw you on this bed and have my way with you, we might be late if we start something now" he says standing up and closing the gap between us. He bends down and kisses me gently. He pulls back slightly and I open my eyes.

"I love you, Beatrice" he says full of emotion.

"I love you too, Tobias" I say and stand on my tip-toes and press a gentle kiss on his lips. "Go take a shower" I say. He smiles at me and kisses me before going into the bathroom, but not before slapping my buttocks playfully. "Hey" I shout after him.

"Couldn't help it. Your ass is just too delicious to not slap it" he yells from inside the shower. I shake my head and walk to the dresser. I put on some lacy boy shorts and a black lace bra, some black skinny jeans, a black tank top and a baggy dark grey shirt over it, since the days are much colder than before.

Winter is coming, there's no doubt about that. I actually can't wait for December. Tobias told me about Christmas and I always wanted to celebrate it. Unlike Halloween, Thanksgiving and other holidays of Christmas I did hear of. Sometimes during the Christmas season my mom and I volunteered at the soup kitchen near Erudite. The city was decorated in red and green and some stores offered candies for free to children whose parents bought products on sale there. I always wondered how it would be like if we celebrated Christmas. Now I've got the chance. I make a mental note to check out the stores here in Dauntless for something for Tobias. I never gave or received any gift, ever. This is definitely something I'm looking forward to.

By the time I'm done getting dressed Tobias walks out with a towel wrapped around his waist looking sexy as hell. I look him up and down and desire quickly spreads throughout me and the only thing I can think of is to rip that stupid towel off of him and have my way with him. I shake my head and get my phone, leaving Tobias to get dressed. I walk downstairs and open the balcony door to breathe in some fresh air. I walk outside and realize that it's getting chilly every day a little bit more. I need to take a shopping trip soon, since I don't have any warm clothes. I think I'll ask the girls if they are in the mood to go shopping with me. Maybe tomorrow. I do have the appointment with Addison, but it's just after lunch. After that I made sure to have the afternoon off. I'll ask the girls later when we take lunch or work out this evening. I'm pulled out of my thoughts when Tobias wraps me in his arms startling me a little bit.

"I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to scare you" he says apologetically.

"It's alright. I didn't hear you. That's all" I say leaning into his embrace.

"What were you thinking of? You seemed so far away" he asks.

"That it's getting colder every day. I need to buy some warmer clothes. I thought of asking the girls if they would go on a shopping trip with me. I'm sure if I don't some of them, Christina, will be very upset with me" I say laughing.

"Oh, yes. Women and shopping" he says.

"Maybe I should take you with me" I say glancing up and he has a terrified look on his face.

"Me?"

"What? You don't want to spend some time with me?" I ask innocently.

"Of course, honey. But shopping is not really my thing and…" he tries to get out of this gently, unaware that I'm messing with him.

"Honey, relax. I was kidding. I know you don't like shopping. Heck, I don't like it. But I need some warmer clothes. Is there anything you need that I can get you?" I ask and he thinks for a moment.

"I have sweaters and jackets. And I bought some boots not long ago. I'm good."

"Alright. We should probably get going. We need to get some work done" I say kissing the underside of his jaw. He tightens his grip a little before letting go. He takes my hand and we walk inside. I close the balcony door to avoid cooling down the whole apartment. "Did you close the balcony door in the bedroom?" I ask and he shakes his head. Before I can say anything else he sprints up the stairs and I guess closes the door. He's back down in no time and we head to our offices. We kiss goodbye and I open mine. I walk to my desk and start my computer. I decide to call Christina and ask her to come to my office. Fortunately she's free this morning and soon knocks on my door.

"What's up, Tris?" she asks entering my office.

"I wanted to ask you if you would go on a shopping trip with me tomorrow" I say and her eyes light up.

"Really? How come?" she asks skeptical, knowing how much I dislike shopping.

"Yeah. I realized this morning I don't have any warm clothes. Besides we need to start planning the Halloween party."

"Yeah. Did Four tell you all about it?"

"Yeah, he did. I told Ms. Stone, the cafeteria manager, to create whatever menu she wants. She's been here longer and knows what the people like. We need to talk to Ms. Aubrey who is in charge of supplies to check what we have left on decorations and order some more if necessary. I never celebrated Halloween so I need you guys to tell me what we need or should do."

"Don't worry, Tris. I talked to the girls yesterday and we came up with a plan. Do you know what a Haunted House is?" she asks.

"A house that's haunted?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"Duh, obviously. But a Haunted House is a place where scary stuff happens. It's usually something for kids, but we could do something for the grownups as well."

"What did you guys have in mind?" I ask and Christina starts explaining in detail what the girls came up with last night. She tells me they made sure the boys didn't hear anything since it's a spooky surprise for everyone. I have to admit she got me all excited and I completely forget what time it is when I hear a knock on my door. I tell the person to come in and look stunned at Ms. Aubrey. I look at my watch and realize I had our appointment rescheduled for today. Christina excuses herself and leaves my office and I invite Ms. Aubrey to sit in the chair in front of my desk. We discuss the more pressing matters on the agenda and when we're done I ask her about previous years and the Halloween party. She tells me many of last year's decorations are still in good shape or haven't even been used and I decide to go check on them. We leave my office and head to the storage sector. The storage room is secured with a password and only a few Dauntless members, including Tobias and myself have access there. Ms. Aubrey opens the door to the huge storage room and leads me toward a back room where we keep decorations for different occasions. Most decorations are put up in the Pit, but also at the main entrance and the more common areas of the compound. The living quarters are usually decorated by the inhabitants. We walk inside the somewhat smaller room and turn left twice before we stand in front of two large crates. Ms. Aubrey opens both and I see an abundance of orange and black. I recognize pumpkins and witches, dragons and skeletons. I inspect the decorations and decide that they are in good shape to be used this year as well. I ask her if she thinks this would suffice to decorate all the places and she tells me an extra crate wouldn't be a bad idea. I give her my permission to purchase more decorations and call Mr. Walsh on the phone to tell him to give her the money she needs. I thank her for her time and tell her to call me if anything else comes up. We say goodbye and I return to my office. The moment I enter the hallway to the offices I see Tobias pacing in front of my door. The moment he sees me he smiles at me and takes three huge steps toward me and picks me up when he's in front of me.

"What's going on?" I ask laughing at his behavior.

"I've missed you" he says kissing the raven nearest to my heart through the fabric. I've noticed he always does that.

"Really?" I ask smirking at him.

"Really. Where were you anyways? I came looking for you and you weren't here. I called you but you didn't answer" he says putting me back down.

"Sorry about that. I had my meeting with Ms. Aubrey and we went to the storage room to check on the Halloween decorations. I called Walsh afterwards. That's probably why you couldn't reach me" I tell him.

"Must be. So, how are things coming with the party?" he asks.

"A little slow. I have faith that the dinner will be great. I'm sure Ms. Stone sees to it. As for the decorations I told Ms. Aubrey to buy an additional crate. In case we don't use it all we have some for next year."

"Great. How about the girls? I thought they offered to help you."

"Yeah. Chris came by earlier and told me they have some ideas. They talked about it yesterday. We decided to discuss it more tomorrow during our shopping trip."

"If you need some help just tell me" he offers and I kiss his cheek.

"Thanks, but I think I want to do this alone. Well, with the girls. Christina told me we need to get a costume. Do you have something in mind? I never had to disguise myself before."

"No. I haven't done it either. Should we look for something together?"

"Yeah. Although I don't know where to look."

"There's a store in the Pit that sells and lends costumes. We can go check it out after lunch" he says and I agree.

"Speaking of. I'm starving. What time is it?"

"Noon. Let's grab something to eat."

We walk hand in hand to the cafeteria saying hello to everyone who we meet on our way. We sit down at our regular table where Zeke and Shauna share a slice of Dauntless cake and Christina and Will make out. Tobias clears his throat and they all look up.

"Hey guys" I say.

"Hey Tris. Christina here tells me we go shopping tomorrow" Shauna says, while Lynn, Marlene and Uriah sit down.

"Wow, rumors spread quickly around here" I say jokingly. "Yeah, I need some stuff. You wanna come?" I ask the rest of the girls.

"Sure" Marlene says.

"Haven't we done that not too long ago?" Lynn asks a little irritated.

"Oh come on, Lynn. It's fun. Don't act like you don't like hanging out with us" Marlene says.

"I do. But shopping?"

"You don't have to come shopping if you don't want to" Shauna tells her sister.

"Actually I also wanted to talk to you girls about the Halloween party. I've heard you have some ideas. I have the afternoon off. I have an appointment just after lunch in the city and afterwards I'm free. We can shop and then hang out at my place, watch a movie or something" I suggest.

"Sure" Shauna says.

"Did you think of what costume to wear?" Christina asks me.

"Four and I will check out the store in the Pit after lunch" I tell her.

"How about we surprise each other with our costumes?" Marlene asks.

"What do you mean?" Uriah asks.

"I mean how about the girls and the boys split up and surprise each other at the Halloween party?"

"I think that would be great" Christina says.

"Tris?" Marlene asks. I look at Tobias and he shrugs.

"Alright" Marlene says clapping her hands together. "How about we meet at my place that day and we can get ready there" she suggests.

"You can do it at our place. It's bigger" Tobias says and I look at him smiling.

"That's a wonderful idea, honey. Thank you" I say kissing him softly.

"What about us guys?" Will asks.

"You come to my place" Zeke says and they nod."

"It's settled then. The girls get ready at Tris's and Four's place, while the guys get ready at ours" Shauna says.

We talk some more about the party and the others tell us about past Halloweens in Dauntless. Even Will and Christina share about their Halloween experiences in their birth factions. Tobias and I are the only ones who remain quiet.

Since we decided to get our costumes separately Tobias and I return to our offices after lunch. I take out my key and unlock the door. When I turn around to kiss Tobias goodbye he picks me up and carries me inside, shutting the door behind us.

"Honey, not here" I breathlessly say.

"You're mean" he says against my throat. I chuckle and he sits down, me still in his arms. I sit on his lap while he runs a hand up and down my leg.

"What's the matter, honey?" I ask after a while.

"I was thinking…" he starts saying but gets distracted when he starts playing with my hair.

"About?" I inquire when he remains silent. He sighs.

"We should add another leader" he finally says.

"What? How did you come up with this?" I ask.

"I kept thinking. It's only the two of us. If we ever take a vacation and believe me we will we can't just leave Dauntless with no leadership."

"True. I haven't thought about that. Actually I had no time thinking of anything. We had so much work to do after we took over" I say leaning my head on his shoulder while he still rubs my leg.

"That's another reason. It's becoming too much for just the two of us. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in that office. I want to live it. With you. And someday with our kids. I don't want them to grow up with a nanny or in daycare. But more importantly I want them to feel loved and wanted, the way I never felt."

"I love you and I always will" I say cupping his face and kissing him softly.

"I love you too" he says after we pull apart.

"I know what you mean. I haven't really thought about kids and how our work will impact them, but you are right. Not just for the future but our immediate lives are impacted by our work. Sometimes we are so tired we skip dinner sometimes. That's not good. If we want this place to run properly we need to be focused, but we can't be if we are too tired."

"I'm glad you're on board with me."

"Of course, baby. Did you have anyone in mind?" I ask.

"I studied a few people for the past few weeks. I haven't told you anything before because I didn't know if it was something we should or shouldn't do right now. Also, you were busy with the council and I didn't want to stress you out more. One Eaton getting on your nerves is more than enough" he says half joking.

"You don't get on my nerves" I say and he raises an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe sometimes. But I love you and can deal with that. As for the other Eaton he's half way forgotten when I'm back in your arms. I'm really happy, Tobias. You have no idea how happy you make me" I say and pull him in for another kiss.

"I'm extremely happy too. I never imagined that I could feel so happy and loved. And I never thought that I could love anyone the way I love you. You are my everything. I would be lost without you" he says emotion thick in his voice. "But I'm scared, Tris."

"Of what?"

"That I might be like my father" he confesses.

"What are you talking about?" I ask a little loud pushing myself up. "You are nothing like him. You are kind and gentle and loving and honest. You are the complete opposite of him. Don't you ever even think that you are anything like him, do you understand me, Tobias Eaton?" I yell.

"Calm down, sweetheart" he runs his hands up and down my arms in an attempt to calm me. I jump off his lap and stand now before him.

"I'm calming down when you stop thinking like that. Listen to me, Tobias. You are nothing like him. If you would be even one percent like him I wouldn't be here in your arms. I wouldn't live with you. I wouldn't share my bed with you. You are not like him. You never were and you never will be. Trust me, if there's any indication of you becoming like him I'm out. I won't even leave a note. My absence will be my note" I say firmly. He stands up and wraps me in his arms. I let him but don't hug him back.

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just when I look at you I just can't understand how you could be with someone so damaged like me" he says, his voice quivering slightly.

"You are strong. You are a survivor. I'm with you for the same reason you are with me. We love each other. We belong to each other. I would give half of what is left of my life to make up for all those years you had to suffer in silence. You are a remarkable person, a wonderful human being. Don't ever think less of you, because I don't. I wake up every morning asking myself what did I ever do to deserve such a wonderful man like you. We are together because we're meant to be. I don't want to hear you say that you don't deserve me, because if you don't deserve me I sure as hell don't deserve you" I say hugging him tightly to me. I hear his heart beat faster and know that I must have made him think about my words.

"You are right. I'm sorry for even bringing it up."

"Don't be. I mean, if you ever feel this way again just talk to me. I rather have us fight for five minutes than seeing you suffer. I can't handle seeing you in pain. Whenever you feel like this again just tell me. But there shouldn't be a next time. I love you for who you are. And you're not damaged. For Christ sake, you know what I am. If anyone isn't right that's me" I say pulling back to see his reaction.

"How is it that you always make me smile when I'm down?"

"That's because I love you and don't want you to be sad, ever." He kisses my mouth and hugs me again. "You were saying something about a third leader" I say when we keep standing in place, not saying a word to each other.

"Yeah, right. I was going through a few files and had some interesting chats with possible candidates" he says and we sit down.

"Did you tell them about the leadership job?" I ask.

"No. I just made small talk" he tells me.

"You? Small talk?" I ask raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yeah, me. What's so odd about that?"

"Honey, you are known for many things, but I doubt small talk is one of them" I say and we both laugh.

"Well, I can engage in small talk if I want to."

"I'm sure" I say sarcastically.

"Do you want me to tell you this or not?" he asks amused. I'm glad he's smiling again.

"Alright, alright. Please, oh great small talker. Enlighten me." He chuckles.

"I checked a few people out and came up with someone that would do a great job."

"Who? Do I know him?"

"It's a she actually."

"Who? Come on, Tobias, spill it already."

"Tori Wu."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What do you think of Tobias's fear? Is it justified?
> 
> And what about his proposal to add a third leader? Do they need one?
> 
> And is Tori Wu the right person for the job?
> 
>  
> 
> Check in on Monday to find out.
> 
>  
> 
> Also review :P


	28. Chapter 28

28

"Who?" I ask.

"Tori Wu" he answers.

"Tori who?"

"Not who. Wu."

"I meant who's that?"

"Tori, from the tattoo parlor."

"Shut up" I say. He looks at me rather shocked. "Sorry, picked it up from Christina apparently. Why her?"

"I know her since my aptitude test. She and my instructor Amar became my friends when I first joined Dauntless. She's also the one who helped with my tattoo. We talked a lot and she told me about her brother. She's a great person and she knows almost everyone here in Dauntless. People know and trust her. I checked the files, there hasn't been one complaint against her. She would make a fine addition."

"Do you think she would want this? Becoming a leader changes your life forever and not always in a good way. There's a lot of work and responsibility that's coming with it."

"I know. I haven't told her anything because I wanted to run it by you first. You are my partner in every aspect of my life. If you don't want something I won't impose it. But we should discuss it nevertheless."

"I agree. What made you think of her? I mean just because she knows people and people know her doesn't mean she would be a good fit."

"True. That's only one reason. Over the years we both complained about the way Dauntless was lead by our former leaders. We talked about how unfair the faction became and what we would do if we would have the chance to change things."

"So basically you daydreamed about becoming leaders" I say with a chuckle.

"More or less" he says smiling.

"Alright. You know her better than me. And I trust your judgment. When do you want to tell her about our proposal?"

"Whenever you want."

"How about we go talk to her now. See if she has some time or come to our offices later or tomorrow. I don't want to discuss this at the tattoo parlor" I say.

"Me neither. But I have an appointment in ten minutes" he says looking at his watch.

"That's not a problem. I can go to her and schedule something for later. When would it be good for you?"

"My appointment shouldn't take longer than one hour. How about after that?" he asks.

"Alright. I see what I can do. I'll take my phone with me and call you if something comes up."

"Good."

We kiss goodbye and Tobias leaves my office. I grab my keys and phone and lock the door behind me. I walk down to the Pit and pass several stores before I get to the tattoo parlor. I enter the dimly lit place and look for Tori. I find her in the back of the shop working. In the chair sits Dwayne, our security head getting a new tattoo on his left upper arm.

"Hey guys" I say. Tori looks up at me and smiles when she sees me.

"Hi Tris. What can I do for you?" she asks politely.

"Hello Tris" Dwayne greets me smiling before his expression changes to a serious one. "Is something wrong? Did you call me?" he asks and starts fussing on the chair, making Tori stop working.

"Calm down or I will make a mistake otherwise" she scolds him.

"Tori, please. If Tris is here she probably needs me" he says trying to get out of the chair. Dwayne always goes out of his way to make sure I'm safe or have anything I need. He's a little like Tobias, but in a more brotherly fashion.

"She came to the tattoo parlor. Why would you assume she came for you?" Tori asks him quizzically.

"Nothing's wrong" I interject. "I actually came to see you, Tori" I say and Tori looks at Dwayne grinning.

"See. It's not always about you, big guy."

"Alright. But you would tell me if something's wrong, right Tris" he asks looking at me.

"Of course I would" I say, placing my right hand over his exposed shoulder, making him wince. "Sorry" I apologize.

"It's okay. It's a little sensitive. Tori could you put a bandage on" he says looking at Tori who already prepared one. She places it over his tattoo and Dwayne gets out of the chair, leaving Tori and me alone.

"So, how can I help you Tris? Do you want a tattoo?"

"No. Maybe later. I'm here to talk to you about something. Four and I have a proposal for you. Could you come to our offices in like an hour maybe" I ask.

"Sure. Any chance you could tell me what this is all about?"

"I'm sorry. I want Four to be present. But don't worry, it's nothing bad." I turn around to leave when a thought crosses my mind. "Hey Tori?"

"Yes?"

"Are you free? I would like to get a tattoo."

"I have to check if there isn't anyone about to come in" she says and leaves me a few minutes alone. When she returns she smiles and says "I asked Lynn to take my next appointment."

"You sure it's not a problem?"

"Yeah. Lynn is doing a great job here. She has been a tremendous help around here."

"I'm glad."

"So what would you like?"

"Another raven, right here" I say pointing over my heart "and a little bigger than the others."

"Alright. Could you take your top off. The tank top too" she says and I blush. "I'll close the curtain so that no one comes in here. Lynn knows that when I close the curtain it's for a more intimate piece" she explains. I still don't feel at ease about that but I do as she asked me and take off my clothes and sit down on the chair. She starts working and we idly chat about this and that.

"I think it was very brave what you did" she says after a while when none of us said something.

"What?"

"When you went under truth serum and confessed you are divergent. Thanks to you the divergent population in the city doesn't have to be afraid anymore. Anyone who hurts divergents for being divergent are severely punished. I just wish George would still be alive to see this" she says while a stray tear runs down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Tori. I wish I could do something for you" I say not knowing what else to say or do.

"It's okay, Tris. You already do so much. For divergents, for Dauntless. If I would have known back in the summer when I administered your aptitude test that you would be our saving angel I would have encouraged you to join our faction then and there. You and Four have been a blessing, no doubt your upbringing had a lot to do with it" she says hinting on our Abnegation background.

"Four told me that when he joined the faction you and his late instructor Amar were there for him. I want to thank you for that. I know how stubborn he can be when it comes to opening up and accepting help. I only wish Amar would be still alive. I'm sure I would have liked him. Four doesn't talk much about him, but when he does it's always positive and he literally lights up."

"Amar would have loved you. He and I were friends and he was the only one I could talk to about George. He was the only one that understood. When I found out about Four I vowed to protect him the way I couldn't with my brother. He never really let me in and let me help him with his demons. This is why I'm so glad and thankful that you decided against my advice and joined Dauntless. You changed him. For the better."

"I don't know about that. He is a genuinely good person. He can be kind, but it's a lot easier to be the person everyone around here fears" I say a little sad.

"They don't fear him. Well maybe a little. But they respect him. Even before he became our leader. I'm done" she says and I realize she's talking about the tattoo. She hands me a hand mirror and I look at it. It's beautiful!

"Tori, it's gorgeous. Thank you" I say smiling.

"You're welcome. You can't shower tonight. Tomorrow morning should be fine. Here" she says putting a bandage on it.

"I think it's almost time for us to go. Can I invite you to get a coffee with me?"

"Sure."

We walk out of the parlor and up to the Pire to my office. I unlock the door and let Tori enter first. I invite her to sit on the couch while I make a fresh pot of coffee. When it's done I hand her a cup and take mine and sit across from her on the armchair. We talk some more when I hear a knock on my door. I tell the person to come in and Tobias enters.

"Hello Four" Tori greets smiling.

"Hello Tori. Thank you for coming" he says sitting down on the armrest of the armchair and placing a tender kiss to my crown.

"I haven't called you since I figured you would guess that she might be here."

"It's okay. My meeting took a little longer than I anticipated. Sorry for keeping you waiting this long."

"Don't worry Four. Tris and I had a wonderful time."

"Yeah. We were gossiping about you. She told me embarrassing stories about you, I told her embarrassing stories about you. It was magical the way we bonded" I say teasingly.

"Really? So I'm gossip material around here" he says dramatically before we all laugh.

"No. We did talk about you. Just a little though. How about you tell Tori what our proposal is. I'm sure she's curious and I'm dying to tell her" I say looking up at him.

"Then why don't you tell her?" he asks.

"Cause it was your idea. Go on. Tell her."

"Alright. Tori, what would you say if we would offer you to become a leader?" he bluntly asks.

"Smooth" I say sarcastically and he just glances my way.

"You want what?" she asks after a while, shock still all over her face.

"We want you to join us" I say.

"We thought a lot about it and came to the conclusion that you would make a great leader. So, what do you say?" Tobias asks.

"I don't know what to say. I never saw myself as a leader. Ever since I became a member of Dauntless I wanted to be a tattoo artist. I don't know if I could work as a leader" she says.

"If it helps we never thought of becoming leaders ourselves. It just happened. And as for working as a leader I'm sorry to say that this isn't a job, it's a lifestyle" I say.

"What do you mean?" she asks confused.

"Unlike any other job you are always on call. People need to be able to reach you. You need to always be available one way or another. It's a 24/7 job. It's a lot of work and responsibility, but it's also very rewarding" I tell her sincerely.

"Most importantly you can help us change this place for the better. There are usually up to five leaders per faction. So at some point we could add two other people. But we would be the top three. You don't have to answer now" Tobias explains.

"If you like you can sit in on our meetings with the staff, the council, watch what the daily assignments mean, what kind of problems we have to face and solve. You can look at it like an internship. You will be paid like any other day in the parlor, but you would have to take some of your leave" I explain further.

"You could start your internship on Monday. You can state your opinions on different problems that come up, offer solutions. Just be part of it" Tobias says.

"Is it okay if I sleep on it?" she asks.

"Sure. You have until Monday morning time to tell us if you even consider the internship. You can do that and afterwards decide if you want to take the job as leader or not. So, just because you say yes to the internship doesn't mean you say yes to the job. It's a trial period for both you and us, to see if we would work well together. What do you say?" I ask her.

"Alright. Let me think about it and I will tell you no later than Saturday if I start the internship or not" she says.

"That's great, Tori" Tobias says warmly.

"Alright then. Thank you again for coming and thank you for this" I say pointing toward my new tattoo. Tobias furrows his eyebrows in confusion, but doesn't say anything.

"You're welcome. See you around" she says and leaves my office.

"What was that all about?" Tobias asks the moment the door closes behind Tori.

"What do you mean?" I ask innocently getting up from the armchair and walking to my desk. I sit down and start typing on my computer ignoring him.

He sits down in the chair in front of my desk and looks at me. I try to keep a neutral face but it's getting harder by the minute. I continue typing and looking at the screen when I say "You die to know what secret I have with Tori, don't you?"

"Kind of" he says honestly. I finally look at him and smile.

"I asked Tori for a new tattoo" I say and he looks at me surprised.

"Really? Where?"

"Right here" I say and pull the shirt down enough for him to see the bandage.

"What is it?" he asks curious.

"A surprise" I say turning off my computer and getting up from my chair. I walk around the desk and sit on his lap. "You will find out soon enough."

"Like when we go home?" he asks grinning.

"Like tomorrow" I reply patting his cheek and get off of him.

"What? You're so mean sometimes, you know that?" he says pouting.

"Stop that" I say trying to look serious. "I can't show you because I need to keep this on until tomorrow. I'm going to call the girls and cancel my meeting with them tonight because I can't shower tonight and I sure as hell won't work out and go all sweaty to bed. It takes like forever to change the sheets on that bed. Remind me, why did we buy such a big bed?"

"To let the kids sleep with us" he innocently answers while wrapping his arms around my small body.

"Cut the crap, Tobias. We both know that wasn't the reason" I say looking up at him.

"Well, not the only one, I admit" he says.

"You in the mood for a movie night? We could have one just the two of us or we could invite the others since we kind of ignored them lately" I say.

"Well since you girls had your meeting scheduled the guys and I decided to do some work out of our own. We wanted to go for a run and then spar for a while. How about this? You girls have a movie night at our place and we could join you later. What do you say?"

"I'll ask them. But I need you to let me go a little" I say and he shakes his head no. I laugh a little but then manage to get out of his embrace just enough to grab my phone from my desk and dial Christina's number. Before she answers Tobias picks me up bridal style and walks with me toward the couch where he sits down and keeps me in his arms.

"Hey Tris" I hear Christina answer her phone.

"Hey Christina. Hang on. I'm trying to add the girls to our conversation. Don't hang up" I say.

"Okay" she answers.

I press the special "conversation button" on my phone and dial the rest of the numbers. Soon everyone is in line and I tell them about my tattoo and that I can't work out today. It's okay if they go without me but if they are in the mood for a movie night they are more than welcome to come to my place.

"Sounds great" Shauna says.

"Yeah" Marlene says.

"We could order some pizza and eat at my place" I say. "Four told me he and the guys will get together for some training but might join us afterwards."

"That's cool" Christina says.

"Awesome. Put on some comfortable clothes. I'm talking to you Chris" I say and the girls laugh. "And I'm sorry for messing up our schedule" I say.

"Don't worry, Tris" Lauren says. "It's not like we're preparing for war here" she adds and we all laugh. We decide to meet at my place at six p.m. Lauren and Shauna offered to bring some drinks, both alcoholic and not, while Marlene insisted on bringing a Dauntless cake. Lynn offered to go with her, making sure Uriah doesn't smell it and devours it before we get the chance to even see it. I swear that guy can smell Dauntless cake when somebody's only mentioning it. I hang up the phone and turn my attention to Tobias.

"That was a great idea, honey. Thank you for suggesting it" I say and kiss him gently on the lips.

"No problem. Listen, I have some stuff I still need to do. I'll meet you here at five-ish. Is that alright?"

"Sure. But please eat something before you go training" I say.

"That's the plan. I'll eat a sandwich at home and afterwards some pizza. I'll call the guys and tell them about the movie night. If they are in that's good if not that's fine also. I won't stay longer than two hours which means I should be back at around eight p.m."

"Great. I'll make sure to safe you a slice of cake" I say and he kisses me.

"That's my girl" he says and I laugh.

"Yeah, I'm yours" I say cupping his face and look deeply into his dark blue eyes.

"Forever" he says staring back at me.

"And always" I add before we start kissing passionately. We continue our make out session until his phone rings. He pulls away growling and answers his phone.

"Yes" he says a little rude. "Oh, hey Zeke. What's up, man?" he says a little more calm. "Yeah I was here when she made the phone call. I thought we guys do our thing and then join the girls" he says. "Alright. Did you call the others too?" He listens to Zeke and nods and I chuckle. "Alright. See you at six. Bye" he says and hangs up. "That was Zeke" he says looking at me. "Shauna called him and told him about the plan for tonight. Apparently he and the others already talked and decided they wanted a movie night as well. Zeke however told them that you girls might wanna gossip a little so we go training for like two hours and then come and join you."

"How nice of you. Only what makes you think we gossip?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"Isn't that what girls do?" he asks genuinely.

"No."

"Really?"

"Maybe sometimes."

"Alright. I have to go back to my office to finish some work. See you later. Love you" he says and gets up. We kiss goodbye and I realize I'm feeling a little cold. I wrap my arms around myself and rub my hands up and down my arms in an attempt to warm me up. I'm still rubbing when I feel a tickle in my nose and sneeze suddenly. I walk to my desk to get a tissue when I sneeze a second and then a third time. Damn. Please, I don't want to get sick. I hate being sick. I want my mommy.

I blow my nose and sneeze again. Oh come on. I decide to go down to the pharmacy and buy some medicine. I grab my keys and phone, as wel handful of tissues. I walk through the Pit as quickly as I can. I never realized how windy it is down here. I enter a well lit hallway and turn left when I reach the infirmary to get to the pharmacy. I enter the spacious place and walk to the counter.

"Good morning Tris" a young woman with short magenta hair greets me.

"Hello" I say and look at her name tag "Bobbi. I think I'm sick" I say and sneeze again.

"Oh" she says. "A lot of people came in for the past few days. The difference in temperature between day and night takes a toll on the human body. Most people's immune system is vulnerable this time of the year" she starts explaining while picking out a few boxes. She places three different boxes on the counter in front of me and writes something down. "Here" she says handing me the note and putting the boxes in a paper bag. "I wrote down what each pill is for and how many times you should take them. I gave you something for fever. Take one pill every night for five nights in a row or a pill if you feel feverish during the day. I gave you something for coughing and some lemon drops to ease the pain in your throat when you start coughing. Trust me, it will happen. If it doesn't get better after five days please go to the infirmary and get checked out."

"Thank you" I say. "Could you give me some pain killers as well?" I ask and she nods turning around to grab a box. She hands me the box and I pay for my purchase. I decide to go home since I finished work and if something comes up I have my phone with me. I walk up the stairs and feel suddenly very tired. I unlock the door and enter my home. I close the door behind me and walk into the kitchen. I feel warm and sleepy and decide to make myself some chamomile tea. While the water is boiling I go upstairs and change into some soft sweatpants and put on one of Tobias's large hoodies over my own sweater. I put on the fluffy house shoes Tobias bought for me while he had a meeting in Amity and grab the tissue box from my vanity. I walk downstairs and pour some tea in a large mug and walk over to the couch. I decide to take a fever pill and cuddle under the soft dark gray blanket while sipping the hot beverage. I put my mug on the coffee table when I've finished the tea and grab my phone to call Tobias to let him know I'm already home. I dial his number and wait for him to pick up. I wait for a whole minute for him to pick up and figure he might be in a meeting and his phone might be set on silent. I put mine down on the coffee table and lie down pulling the blanket closer to me. I start shivering violently a curl up into a ball trying to warm me up.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know is that I feel something cool touching my heated skin. I try to open my eyes but find that my eyelids have turned to lead. I try to sit up but I feel a terrible headache hitting me hard.

"Wait, let me help you" I hear Tobias say. I finally manage to open my eyes and see his concerned face. He helps me sit up and kneels down in front of the couch.

"What time is it?" I ask barely recognizing my own voice. I feel my throat inflamed and I'm glad I went to the pharmacy earlier.

"It's almost seven p.m. I came home shortly after five when I couldn't find you in your office. I saw that you called me but I had my phone in my pocket and didn't hear it. When I tried calling you back you didn't answer and went to look for you in your office. When I couldn't find you there I came here and found you on the couch. I wanted to carry you to lie you down in bed but I winced in pain and I just left you there. I checked your temperature a few times. Since I came home it definitely rose a few times. I put a cold cloth on your forehead to get it back down" he tells me.

"Oh, I see now. I dreamed I was outside and it was snowing. It felt so cold" I say shivering and he sits next to me pulling me close and rubbing his hand up and down my right arm.

"I saw that you got some medicine" he says pointing toward the coffee table.

"Yeah. After you left I started sneezing a few times and decided to go to the pharmacy to get something. Bobbi, the young woman there, told me that a lot of people got sick and she gave me something for the fever and coughs. She told me if I'm still sick after five days I should go to the infirmary" I tell him.

"No way I let you stay here for five days. We go now" he says and tries to get up but I hold him back.

"No, Tobias. It's just the first day. It's not the first time I have a cold. How about this? If I'm still sick on Saturday I'll go then" I say and he thinks for a little while before agreeing.

"Are you hungry?" he asks.

"A little bit. But I'm not sure I can eat anything" I say.

"I made some chicken soup" he says.

"Really?" I smile at him.

"Yes. Wait here. I'll bring you some" he says and sprints to the kitchen. He comes back with a bowl of soup and starts feeding me. I first wanted to protest that I can do it myself but the moment I tried to lift my arm I gave up. I'm too tired to do anything. I barely manage to open my mouth to eat, let alone feed myself. When I'm done I lie back down while Tobias cleans up the kitchen. He come back and sits on the floor near me.

"Don't sit on the floor, you'll get a cold too" I say. I lift the blanket and he gets the hint. He takes of his shoes and lies behind me on the couch pulling me close to him. We snuggle for a while when I remember that we both had plans for tonight. "I forgot about the girls" I suddenly say jumping up a little and regretting it instantly.

"Don't worry" he says rubbing my head to ease my pain. I lie back down, but face him now. "I called everyone and told them you are sick and we would stay home. I told them we could have a movie night when you are feeling better."

"Thank you" I say kissing his lips but pull back immediately. He looks at me and furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

"What's wrong? Do I taste funny?" he asks.

"No. But I don't want you to get sick" I say. He starts laughing and I look at him confused.

"Don't worry, honey. I rarely get sick. Besides nothing can stop me from kissing you" he says before he kisses me over and over again. I start giggling but I'm soon interrupted by a violent cough. I have to sit up and Tobias goes to the kitchen to bring me some water. I drink the liquid and hand him the glass while thanking him. I lie back down and he resumes his position holding me close to him. I soon fall back asleep.


	29. Chapter 29

29

I wake up to the smell of toast and oat meal. I open my eyes and realize I'm still on the couch. I hear noises from the kitchen and manage to lift myself up without getting a major headache while doing so. I fully expect to see Tobias there but instead I see my mom. I must be dreaming or hallucinating. Why would my mom be here?

"Mom?" I ask and realize how raspy my voice sounds.

"Sweetheart, you're up" she says smiling. She comes to my side and kisses my forehead, no doubt to check on my temperature.

"What are you doing here? Where's Tobias?" I ask confused.

"He had to go to work and asked me if I wanted to come over. I almost had to kick him out. He didn't want to leave at all. I had to promise him I would call him the moment you get up and every time you or I need something" she says.

"Sounds like him. What time is it?" I ask.

"It's almost eleven. I thought of waking you up, but you looked so peaceful that I couldn't. How do you feel?"

"My throat hurts, my back hurts, my head hurts a little less than yesterday. Basically every cell in my body hurts" I summarize.

"My poor baby" my mom says. "Do you want to eat something?" she asks.

"Some toast. I'm not really hungry" I say. "Could you help me get up?" She stands up and holds her arms out for me to grab her. I stand on my own two feet, but they feel like jelly beneath me.

"Where do you want to go?" she asks.

"The bathroom." She helps me to the bathroom and leaves me to myself. I look in the mirror and realize I look like shit. I'm pale and sweaty, my eyes are bloodshot and my hair sticks to my head as if a giant dog licked it. I'm disgusted with myself. I look for a wash cloth to wash the sweat away. I manage to clean myself up a little when a powerful wave of nausea hits me. I barely manage to kneel in front of the toilet when I start empting my stomach. My mom must have heard me because she comes in and kneels down right next to me rubbing a soothing hand up and down my back. She holds my hair to avoid it getting all dirty and I'm thankful Tobias called her. The pain in my upper body is almost unbearable and when I'm finally done vomiting I sit down with my back turned to the toilet. My mom flushes the foul smelling content of my stomach down the drain and takes the wash cloth to wipe my face with it. When I'm certain I won't vomit again I get up with mom's help and brush my teeth. I manage to get back on the couch and lie back down, the toast I wanted minutes ago long forgotten.

I fall asleep almost instantly when my head hits the pillow. When I wake up again Tobias sits on the floor in front of the couch his back slightly turned toward me and holding my right hand in his left. He is talking to someone but I can't understand a word. I blink a few times before I can keep my eyes open and recognize both my parents who are sitting on the adjacent loveseat. None of them seems to have noticed that I'm up. I suddenly feel a lot lighter, like I'm flying. I try to sit up and expect a headache or a wave of nausea to hit me, but to my surprise I'm just fine. I try to get up and realize I don't feel any pain or fatigue as I might have expected. I try talking to them but none of them seems to register that I'm not only awake, but also standing in the middle of the room. I look toward my mom and wave my hand in front of her, but she doesn't react. Neither does my father. What's wrong with them? Why do they ignore me? I turn toward Tobias and want to call his name when I see myself still lying on the couch. Shit. I've projected myself.

"How about you come here tomorrow?" Tobias asks. "I know you invited us to your home, but given that Tris is sick I think it would be best if you would come eat here. I will cook" he proudly says.

"We don't want to intrude" my mom says.

"Natalie, please, you've been a great help today. I wanted to stay home and take care of her, but I had a few important things to take care of."

"Don't worry. Beatrice might have chosen Dauntless, but she's still my little girl and I'll always want and will take care of her."

"Still, you are not intruding. You never are. I'm happy to have you here. I would have loved to come to your house for lunch on Sunday, but I don't think it would be a good idea for Tris to go outside while she's sick" Tobias says.

"Absolutely not. She's a tough one, my little girl" my dad says "but if she goes out it might take a lot longer for her to get better."

"I know we wanted to do this on Sunday, but we could do it tomorrow if you want."

"That'll be lovely" my mom says. I keep watching them for a while and wonder why I'm here. I suddenly hear a noise from upstairs and look toward my family. None of them seem to have heard it. I decide to go upstairs to check it out. Since I'm both invisible and not corporeal nothing bad could happen to me. Not to mention I'm in my own house. I climb the stairs and feel like something is pushing me back down. I look back fully expecting to see Tobias and my parents still sitting where I've left them, but they are gone. So am I for that matter. I hear the same noise again and turn my attention to the upper floor. It sounds like a hurt animal. Something small for sure. When I'm on top of the stairs I hear the noise again. It comes from one of the unused rooms. I walk toward where the sound is coming from and see a light in the room on my left. The door is ajar and I peek inside. On a small wooden bed sits a child crying and I realize I heard crying before. I enter the room and the child looks up. I'm stunned when I look at the child. A boy. He looks just like Tobias, only small and obviously no faction tattoo on his back.

"Mommy" he says and I turn around expecting to see Evelyn. When I turn back around the boy stretches out his little arms for someone to pick him up. "Mommy" he says again. I feel a cold rush through me and see a woman in front of the bed. She's wearing a black silk nightgown and has long blonde hair. She picks the boy up and sits down on his bed while holding him in her lap. For the second time I'm stunned. I look at myself. Wait. Is this really me?

"What is wrong, baby?" my dream self asks the little boy.

"Mommy, had bad dream. Wanna sleep with you and daddy" he says, his voice quivering and it breaks my heart seeing him like this.

"Do you want to tell mommy what you dreamed about?"

"Was in dark place. Grandma there. Bad people fighting" he says.

"It's alright, baby, mommy is here and nothing bad will ever happen to my brave little boy."

"Wanna sleep with mommy and daddy" he pleads.

"Of course, sweetheart. Let's go to daddy." My dream self gets up and carries the little boy down the hall to the master bedroom. I want to follow them but I feel dizzy and before I know it I'm enveloped by darkness.

When I open my eyes again I'm in the living room. Tobias is sitting on the floor just like before talking to my parents who are on the love seat.

"Look who's up. Good morning, sunshine" my dad says smiling. At least I'm up for real now. I try to lift myself into a sitting position and get a massive headache in the process. Yeah, I'm definitely here.

"Ouch, my head" I whine.

"Lie back down, honey" Tobias says alerted.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" my mom asks coming to the couch and feeling my forehead.

"Tired. Did you come home for lunch?" I ask Tobias. He looks at me and furrows his eyebrows.

"Honey, it's past six. You've been sleeping all day" he says.

"What? Oh damn" I say.

"Language" both my parents say.

"Sorry. Why did you let me sleep?" I ask my mom.

"When you're sick it's best to sleep it off" she answers.

"But I had a doctor's appointment at the hospital" I say.

"What appointment? Is something wrong?" my dad asks alerted. Shit. I don't want to tell him I needed to get my birth control shot.

"A check up" Tobias quickly answers for me.

"Don't you have doctors here?" my dad inquires further.

"Yeah, but there were a few tests that are only done in the hospital" Tobias explains. Wow, quick thinking. Or maybe it seems quick since my own mind seems to work at turtle speed.

"Do you want something to eat, sweetie?" my mom asks me caressing my forehead.

"Do you have some soup?" I ask but start coughing immediately. Tobias hands me a glass of water. I drink it eagerly and ask for another one. I drink the second one and ask Tobias to help me to the bathroom. He helps me get inside and then leaves me alone. I sit down and pee. It feels like lava is streaming out of me and I feel my whole body ache. I hate being sick. It's just the worse. I can't imagine something worse than this. Even during initiation when I got beat up I managed to get back on my feet. But this… it's like my own body is fighting against me. And what the hell just happened? Was that real? As real as it can be. Was that me and my son? My son from the future? This never happened before. Maybe it's the fever. Maybe I just imagined it. Maybe I dreamed it. There's no way of telling that this actually happened. No. It was probably just a dream. I probably didn't even hear Tobias tell my parents to come to our place tomorrow. Why would he?

I finish up on the toilet and wash my hands. The cold water hits my skin and I flinch from the sudden pain. I turn the warm water on and wash my hands. I turn the water off and dry my hands. I'm still shaky on my legs and call out for Tobias to come help me. He immediately opens the door and almost knocks me down. He picks me up and carries me to the couch and for once I'm grateful, I mean really grateful, that he does it. I sit down and my mom hands me my soup. She sends both Tobias and my dad to the kitchen island to eat their soup while she feeds me. I want to protest, telling her I'm not a child anymore, but I can't bring myself to say anything. I like being babied. I've missed it. Mom always did it when Caleb or I were sick. It was the only time we weren't "selfish" to let our parents spoil us.

"Thanks mom, it was delicious" I say when I finish.

"You're welcome, sweetheart. What would you like to eat tomorrow?" she asks and I look at her curious.

"Are you coming tomorrow also?" I ask.

"Yes. Tobias invited us to have lunch here tomorrow instead of Sunday's at home" she says and I realize that I did project myself earlier. Maybe the rest is also true. But it can't be. I never experienced anything like it before. Maybe it's just a coincidence. I think I keep it to myself for now. "So, what would you like to eat?" she asks me again.

"Don't worry about lunch, Natalie. I told you I would cook" Tobias says.

"It's not a problem, sweetheart. I love to cook" she says to Tobias.

"Then how about I help you? That way I can learn some more" he says smiling.

"That would be lovely."

"It's settled then. How about I come pick you up tomorrow morning. Just tell me when you want to come over."

"Alright. How about ten a.m.?" my mother asks.

"Alright. I'll be there."

"Mommy?" I say whiny.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"I'm thirsty" I say like a little child. Tobias immediately brings me a glass of water and I drink eagerly from it. I feel like I'm burning up here. "Could you bring me another one?" I ask and he only nods and brings me a second glass of water. While I sip on my water my dad's phone rings and he walks outside on the balcony to talk.

"How are you feeling, honey?" Tobias asks me when he sits down next to me.

"A little better. I can't believe I slept all day" I say.

"It's better that way" my mom says and we both look at her. "You are sick and your body needs the rest. Trust me, a good rest is better than any pill. Don't you remember when you were little? I think you had every childhood illness possible. But you were always such a brave little girl. You almost never complained. Except for when it really hurt you. I was so proud of you."

"Wasn't much I could do about it, was there?" I ask.

"No" she says smiling.

"How come she was always sick?" Tobias asks.

"Unlike other Abnegation children Beatrice always ran around in the meadow. There were many scary stories about that place. Do you remember?" she asks Tobias and he nods. "Beatrice was never scared. The scarier the story the more excited she was."

"I remember hearing a story once in lower levels. Some kid told it. It seems like many years ago there was a serial killer in the city. He killed many people and buried them in that meadow. The police only found him because he left a note before he hanged himself in an old oak tree" Tobias says seriously. My mom and I both look at him and burst into laughter. Tobias furrows his eyebrows in confusion and I can barely stop myself from laughing. "What's so funny?" he asks.

"What is going on here?" my dad asks when he comes back inside and sits down next to my mom on the loveseat.

"We talked about the meadow behind Abnegation and the scary stories people tell about this place. I told them I heard one in lower levels about a serial killer and apparently I missed something, since both Tris and Natalie can't help it but laugh" he says.

"Oh, right. The Meadow Killer" my dad says and Tobias looks even more confused.

"You know about it too? I thought it's an urban legend" Tobias says.

"I know about it, alright" my dad says smirking.

"Will somebody please tell me what's so funny?" Tobias says a little irritated.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart" my mom says. "Beatrice, why don't you tell him?" she says looking at me, calming down from all the laughter.

"Why me?" I ask.

"Because you are responsible for it" my dad says.

"Alright. Tobias" I say and he looks at me "you have to swear never to tell a living soul about this" I say and he raises an eyebrow.

"Okay?" he says unsure.

"Say I swear."

"I swear."

"About the Meadow Killer. There never was a serial killer that hanged himself in the meadow."

"How do you know?" he asks.

"Because I made him up."

"What? How? Why?"

"I was sick. I think I had chickenpox" I look at my mom who nods her head smiling. "I was extremely bored and I made it up. When my friend Susan came to visit I told her about the scary Meadow Killer. Of course I conveniently left out the part where I told her that it was just a lie and she told the story to her brother, who told it to someone else. And so on. And by the time I got back to school, two weeks later, not only the whole school but probably everyone in the city heard the story. In time it got bigger and many things were added. I never told anyone other than my parents and you about it. We even kept it secret from Caleb."

"You're kidding" he says, his mouth hanging open.

"No."

"I believed that story."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Even that crap about skinning his victims and making clothes out of it?"

"Yeah. I actually told Zeke about it one time when he teased me that nothing even remotely dangerous happens in Abnegation. He couldn't believe it when I told him and then Shauna confirmed that she heard from a reliable source that it's true and so the whole of Dauntless talked about the Meadow Killer. It's actually one of the scariest stories around here."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes. I can't believe you made it up" he says impressed. "How did you even come up with it?"

"You see when Beatrice was younger she got sick a lot" my dad starts explaining.

"To avoid her failing classes I took it upon me to tutor her at home" my mom continues. "My little girl was always very smart and managed to do her homework in half the time. So by the time I had lunch ready she was already done. To avoid letting her out I borrowed books from the library and she read every single book in the children's section. I then borrowed young adult books and so on. By the time she was fifteen she already read every novel or poetry book in the public library as well as a few technical books."

"Wow, that's impressive" Tobias says stunned.

"Not so much. When you have to stay at home you have plenty of time and since no one ever visited us no one ever knew how selfish I was reading all those books for my own pleasure" I say and he laughs.

"I'm sure."

"I'm glad I helped her with that, though" my mom says. "She was always very creative and I hated that Abnegation rules would forbid her to explore something so innocent as reading. As if reading a book would make her selfish or not reading would make her selfless" my mom says and we all look at her. "It's true" she defends. "I read a lot while I grew up here in Dauntless. And look at me, I chose Abnegation."

"Your Dauntless is showing, dear" my dad says and we laugh.

"Well I'm not ashamed of my roots."

"Anyway, the books I read only made me imagine more and more. I even started writing a few of my own stories, but I never showed them to anyone, except mom."

"Maybe I should tell you that I gave them to your father as well" she says with an apologetic look on her face.

"In your mother's defense, we never had secrets from each other. But I wish you would have told me, Beatrice. Your stories were always so funny and sensitive, thrilling and heartbreaking. You are a very good writer" my dad says.

"Really? You really think so?"

"Yes. Sometimes I go into your old room and read your stories again and imagine the sweet little girl who wrote them. I won't lie to you and tell you that I don't miss you and your brother a lot, but I'm happy that you are both in a place where you feel like you belong" he says with tears in his eyes.

"Oh dad" I say and carefully get up and walk to him. He stands up and wraps me in his arms. "I love you so much. I swear I didn't mean to hurt you and mom when I chose Dauntless" I say starting to cry.

"I know, sweetheart. I never thought that for one second. It hurt, a lot, that both my children chose to leave. But I understood why you had to do it. I love you and your brother very much. Me and your mom both. We love you forever no matter what." We hug even more and I cry into my dad's chest. When I finally calm down I sit next to him on the loveseat, while mom sat down next to Tobias and holds him close to her.

"I have a question" Tobias says. "You said you only told your parents and me about the Meadow Killer. Why not your brother?"

"Well mom heard me telling the story to Susan and I knew that she would tell dad. We didn't think that Susan would go around and tell everyone about it. You know for someone in Abnegation she's really into gossip" I say and he laughs. "When the story got bigger my parents talked to me and said I shouldn't tell people that it was all made up. After all, most who heard the story thought it was an urban legend already. And we avoided telling my brother because he was always kind of a snitch" I say and both my parents shout "Beatrice!"

"That's not nice" my mom says.

"What? It's true. Whenever I broke something at home he ran to you and told you that it was my fault. Talk about selfish" I say pouting.

"He did the right thing" my dad defends him.

"Yeah, yeah. Good old Caleb, always the good boy. Unlike me" I say.

"Beatrice, what's this all about?" my dad asks.

"You know I really hated him when he betrayed me like that."

"You don't mean that" my mom says.

"Yeah, I do. He never kept a secret for me. He always ran to you or dad to tell on me. He sucked" I say crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"Beatrice, don't be like that. Your brother loves you very much and he only did what we told him to. It was his job to keep you out of trouble and you young lady always managed to get yourself in trouble, even when you were at home" my dad says sternly and I feel like a little child again.

"What kind of trouble?" Tobias asks curious.

"Burning down the chemistry lab in the school" my dad says.

"Never proven" I interject.

"Pulling the fire alarm in school" my mom says chuckling.

"Community service. Math class sucked. Everyone agreed" I defend.

"Stink bomb in the City Council conference room" my dad says.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" I say as innocently as I can.

"Stink bomb?" Tobias asks.

"Andrew promised Beatrice one time when she was six to read her one of her favorite bedtime stories, but he had to go to a meeting late that night. I went upstairs to tuck Caleb and Beatrice in, when I noticed that my six year old little girl was missing. I immediately called Andrew telling him about it when he told me someone attacked the council. I panicked at first, but then he told me that he will have to use a lot of soap when he comes home because the stink monster attacked again. That's when I knew. Beatrice used to play a lot outside and always came back home all dirty and smelly. Andrew started calling her stink monster" my mom says.

"You were a naughty little girl. I think I always knew that you wouldn't stay in Abnegation. When you got older I thought maybe it was just childish nonsense that drove you to do all those things, but deep down you remained the same" my dad says hugging me.

"Did anyone find out it was Tris?" Tobias asks amused.

"No. The moment the bomb went off I looked for her. She always stayed around to get a glimpse of her mischief. I found her under the refreshments table and managed to get her out without anyone seeing her. I ran back home, with Beatrice over my shoulder giggling uncontrollably. I was upset with her and wanted to punish her, but the moment I set her down she looked up at me and smiled."

"You see, sweetheart" mom says to Tobias "when Beatrice was born she cried a lot. She even cried in my arms. But when Andrew took her in his arms she stopped crying. She even smiled at him. She smiled only for him for the first two months."

"I didn't know that" I say.

"Yeah. I was a goner then and there. Your mom said the moment I first hold you that you would always get your way, that I won't ever be able to scold you or punish you. And she's right. To this day I haven't punished you, not once" he says.

"And it was really tough sometimes" my mom says.

They continue to tell us stories from when I was little and all the trouble I got myself into. It's almost eight p.m. when my dad says it's time to go home. We say goodbye and Tobias drives them back home to Abnegation. I feel a lot better and decide to wait for Tobias in the living room while watching a movie and drinking some hot chamomile tea my mom made before she left. Halfway through the movie I fall asleep again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A:N/ Being sick sucks. I remembered that I always get sick during early spring or fall and decided that it's perfect every day crap I could add to the story. After all it's about Tris's and Tobias's every day life in Dauntless.
> 
> What do you think of young Beatrice?
> 
> About the troubles she got herself into?
> 
> And stories she made up?
> 
> I thought it would be nice to explain a little why she never fit into Abnegation. The book is a little ambiguous. 
> 
> What do you think?
> 
> And what about her hallucination? Or was it premonition?
> 
> Looking forward to read your opinions.


	30. Chapter 30

30

I toss and turn over and over. I try to fall back asleep but I just can't. I feel uneasy. Something is wrong, but I can't say what. I look to my left and see that Tobias is sleeping on his stomach, his face toward me. His lips are slightly apart and I fight the urge to kiss him. He's probably very tired. He needs his sleep.

"Mommy?" I hear to my right and turn around to find the miniature version of Tobias standing in front of my side of the bed. "Mommy, can I sleep with you?" the little boy asks. I turn around to see if my dream self is here, but she isn't and I turn back to the boy.

"Sure" I say and am surprised that he heard me. He sticks his little arms out for me to help him get into bed. Unlike any other time I can touch him. This is a first. I never could touch someone during a projection. Then again, this doesn't seem like a projection. I don't have a son. Not yet anyways. Maybe I should explore this further. There has to be a meaning to all of this. "Did you have a bad dream?" I ask and he nods his little head. I let him slip under the blanket and wrap my arms around him. He snuggles into my chest and I feel an unfamiliar warmth spread through my body.

"Mommy?" he says looking up to meet my eyes in the dark.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Why grandma not living here?" he asks.

"Because she and grandpa live in Abnegation" I say and he furrows his eyebrows.

"No, mommy. Other grandma. Evelyn" he says with a giggle. This surprises me.

"Uhm" I start but have no clue what to say.

"Because your grandma Evelyn chose to live factionless" I hear Tobias's raspy voice say behind me. I turn to look at him and he smiles at me. I smile back. He comes closer and embraces me from behind kissing my neck. This is definitely new.

"Daddy up. Did I wake you?" the boy in my arms asks.

"No, buddy. You wanna cuddle between mommy and daddy?" Tobias asks and the little boy climbs over me and settles between us. I turn around and look into Tobias's loving eyes. "I love you, both of you" he says kissing the boy's forehead and then my lips.

"I love you too" I say to Tobias before I look down to the boy and say "I love you too, my sweet little boy" and realize that I mean it.

"Love you mommy. Love you daddy." We cuddle close together and I feel tired again. I'm so happy right now, I don't want to fall asleep again. I want to enjoy this moment with Tobias and my son. Our son. I close my eyes and when I open them again I'm still in Tobias's arms but the little boy is gone. I try to sit up and look around, but he's nowhere to be found. I get up without waking Tobias and walk out of the room and down the hall to where I know that my son's room is. I open the door fully expecting to find him sleeping in his little toddler bed, but the room is empty.

"Tris, what are you doing?" Tobias asks coming up behind me.

"Where is he?" I ask looking behind the door as if the boy would hide behind it.

"Where's who?" Tobias asks confused.

"Our son" I say without looking at Tobias. I turn around and head to the stairs. I want to call my little boy's name, but realize I don't know it.

"Tris, wait. What are you talking about?" Tobias says behind me. He takes a hold of me and helps me climb down the stairs, making sure I won't fall.

"He was here. Just a moment ago" I say and tears are building up in my eyes. We sit down and I can't keep it together anymore. I start crying and Tobias holds me close to him comforting me the best he can.

"Calm down, sweetheart. You had a dream" he softly says against my ear.

"It was so real, Tobias. I held him in my arms. I could feel his warmth, his heartbeat, I could smell him. He called me mommy and I knew he was mine" I say crying into his chest.

"Oh sweetheart" Tobias says, probably not knowing what to do or say to calm me down. There's nothing he can do. I never thought I wanted kids before I had my son in my arms. I knew I loved him the moment I first saw him. I just didn't realize it right away.

"I want him back" I silently say as the tears dry out.

"Honey, it was just a dream. One day he will be real. I promise" he says and I look up at him.

"He looked just like you" I say.

"Calm down, honey" he says looking deep into my eyes and wiping away the tears with his thumbs. "One day we will have our little boy or a little girl. Or both. But you need to calm down now. Please. I hate seeing you cry. It breaks my heart" he says and I wrap my arms around him pulling him close to me. He holds me in his arms rubbing my back and before I know it I fall back to sleep.

When I wake up again I'm lying on the couch alone. I carefully sit up and look toward the kitchen but realize that he's not there. I turn around and glance toward the coffee table and see a note and pick it up.

VI

I left to get your parents. I will be back soon.

Love you, IV.

I look at the clock and see that it's almost ten a.m. They must be back soon. I manage to lift myself up and walk upstairs to our bedroom. I open the door and the cool air hits me in the face. Tobias probably left the balcony door open to clear the air. I walk to the balcony and close it. I then turn around and walk to my dresser to get some fresh clothes. I pick out some fluffy sweatpants, thick woolen socks, a new tank top, a comfy sweater and fresh cotton underwear. I walk inside the bathroom and pull my hair up in a messy bun and step into the shower. I turn on the water and wait until it's warm enough to step under the stream. I take my cinnamon body wash of the shelf and start pouring some into my right palm. I put the bottle back on the shelf and start rubbing my body with it. When every inch of my skin is covered in a foamy layer of cinnamon body wash I step under the water spray again and let the water rinse the soap away. I walk out of the shower and wrap myself up in a big towel. I decide to quickly dry myself since I'm not out of the woods yet and put my clothes on, leaving the dirty ones in the laundry hamper next to the door. I go outside and walk downstairs just when Tobias opens the door and lets my parents in.

"Hey" I say.

"Hello sweetheart" my mom says.

"Hello Beatrice" my dad says from behind her.

"You're up" Tobias says surprised.

"Yeah. Got up a while ago and saw your note. Thank you for letting me know. I totally forgot" I say.

"No problem" he says and comes to me. He kisses me softly and then hugs me close to him. "Hmm, you smell nice" he says and I blush. "Did you shower all by yourself?" he asks and I raise an eyebrow.

"Of course, Tobias. I'm sick, not completely helpless" I say a little irritated.

"I didn't mean it like that. You've been so tired these past few days that you barely managed to stay awake. I don't want you to fall down the stairs" he says and I feel guilty now.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that either. I don't know what's wrong with me" I say.

"It's okay. How do you feel?" he asks. "Do you feel any pain or discomfort?"

"I'm better. But I'm so thirsty" I say.

"Come on. Sit down on the couch I'll bring you something" he says and helps me to the couch. "Andrew, Natalie, what can I bring you? Coffee, tea?"

"I would like some tea" my dad says.

"I want one too. But I want some water first" I say.

"Coming right up" Tobias says smiling. "What about you Natalie?"

"Some tea, thank you."

While Tobias makes the tea in the kitchen my dad sits down on the love seat and mom and I sit on the couch. I snuggle close to mom and let her play with my hair the way she did when I was younger. We talk about little things when Tobias comes back and places a tray with four mugs on the coffee table. We each grab one.

"Where's my water?" I ask Tobias.

"Sorry. Here" he says handing me a bottle of water. I take it and eagerly drink half of it.

"Thank you" I say when I had enough.

"You're welcome."

"Do you want to go to the hospital later?" my dad asks Tobias.

"Why?" I ask alerted. "Are you sick? Is something wrong with you?"

"Calm down, sweetheart. I'm fine. My father woke up from his coma" he tells me sitting closer to me and rubbing a hand up and down my back.

"When?" I ask.

"Yesterday. Andrew got a phone call from Marcus's doctor and he told me when I drove your parents home. I meant to tell you but I forgot. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Do you want to go?"

"Not really. Maybe later."

"Alright." I lean up and kiss his cheek and he smiles at me.

"How about we get going, son" my dad says and I look at him puzzled.

"Go where?"

"Shopping for what your mom needs to cook our lunch" my dad answers smiling.

"Okay." Tobias kisses me softly on the lips and leaves with my dad. "I'm so glad dad and Tobias get along so well" I say to my mom.

"Me too. Tobias is a wonderful person and we love him very much" she says.

"I'm happy to hear that. And I can tell he's happy that you guys like him. It means a lot to him that both you and dad are so supportive."

"It's not really hard. We love him like a son and we are happy that the two of you found each other. You make such a cute couple" my mom says and I blush.

"Mom, I need your help" I say and she looks at me curiously.

"With what?"

"Tobias's birthday is coming up. I know he doesn't like a public spectacle, but I would like to make dinner and dessert for him that day. I was wondering if you could help me out with some recipes?"

"Sure. Just tell me what you want to make and I'll come help you."

"Actually, I was thinking of coming to you and practice" I say.

"That'll be wonderful. I would love to have you back in the house" my mom says smiling.

"Do you by any chance know how to bake Dauntless cake?" I ask.

"Unfortunately, I don't."

"Oh well, I can always asks Ms. Stone. She's in charge of the cafeteria and I know she makes one killer cake" I say.

"Maybe you can share the recipe with me" my mom says and I raise an eyebrow. "What? I was never allowed to spoil you or your brother. But since both my children chose different factions I can always spoil my grandchildren" she says and I remember my son. I look away sad and of course my mom notices the change. "What is wrong, honey?" she asks concerned.

"Mom, something happened" I say and turn around to look at her.

"Oh my God, you're pregnant" she says shocked, but I think happy.

"What? No!" I say a little louder than I intended. "And why are you smiling?" I ask.

"I'm sorry. I just thought how wonderful it would be" she says a little to herself.

"Not to be the adult here but don't you think I'm a little young to be a mother?" I inquire.

"Yes, you are. But over these past months you grew so much. You are a lot more mature than I was at your age. But you are right. You are too young. You have your whole life ahead" my mom says caressing my cheek.

"Mom, something still happened. It happened yesterday. At first I thought I dreamed it, but it was so strange. I was lying on the couch and I woke up. For some unknown reason I projected myself in the middle of the room while Tobias talked to you and dad. Then I heard a noise from upstairs. I started climbing the stairs when I felt that something was pushing me back. I turned around and you were all gone. Including my sleeping body. When I heard the noise again and climbed the stairs and went to where the noise was coming from. I opened one of the unused rooms and found a toddler on a bed calling out for his mommy. He looked so much like Tobias that I thought it might be him when he was little. But then I saw his mother. Me" I say and pause. I look at my mom and figure I had the same dumbfounded look on my face yesterday.

"I guess it wasn't Tobias" my mom finally says.

"No. The boy was, is my son. Mine and Tobias's. Because in the middle of the night I had a dream or whatever that the boy came in our bedroom and cuddled with us. And unlike any time before I could touch both my son and Tobias. I wasn't a ghost. I was really there. Just like them. But then I woke up. I don't know what's going on, but I want my baby back" I say crying again. My mom pulls me close to her and comforts me.

"It's strange, isn't it?" she asks after a while.

"Huh?"

"You never thought of wanting children and then they crash into your life and you're a goner. Everything is about them. What you knew becomes irrelevant. They are all that matters. You love them the moment you see them. I wanted children, but I was scared when I first found out about your brother. I remember that Andrew was holding my hand during my first ultrasound. I was so nervous, but then I saw the picture. Your brother, not bigger than a pea, already conquered my heart. I loved him instantly. Same thing happened with you. You might think things change after one child, but they don't. I was a nervous wreck. Your brother was our little bundle of joy, but he was always so quiet, even while I was pregnant with him. But you, you were always our bundle of pure energy. You moved around so much everyone kept telling me that you are probably a boy. How wrong they were. I knew that you were a girl even before the doctor told us. But you were Dauntless ever since you were as big as a bean" she says and we both laugh.

"I loved him the moment I saw him, even without realizing it. But when he called me mommy I knew there was no going back anymore. I want him. I want my baby" I say sternly.

"And you'll have him. When the time is right" my mom says soothingly.

"That's what Tobias said" I say.

"I'm glad you two talk about these things" my mom says. "Communication is key to any successful relationship."

"We have no secrets. We tell each other everything."

"That's good."

I want to ask mom about what she thinks of my dream, but Tobias and dad come in that exact same moment.

"Can we talk later about kids" I say barely above a whisper and she nods.

Mom gets up and goes into the kitchen, while dad sits next to me on the couch. I turn on the TV and my dad offers to put in a movie. We decide on a drama called Forrest Gump. I've never seen it before, but Hanna, Zeke's and Uriah's mom, swears it's a good movie. We start watching it while mom and Tobias work in the kitchen. I can hear them talk, but don't understand what they are saying. I try to focus on the movie. When we get to the part where the main character goes to war I wonder how life used to be. These old movies offer a glimpse of that life, but I can't recall ever really learning about that time in history class. There are several books in the library, but other than the fictional books who are centuries old, there's no real history book that explains what happened before the war. The war that lead to this life we have today. I keep watching the movie when my stomach suddenly growls. My dad looks at me and chuckles.

"Seems like someone is hungry" he says and I nod eagerly.

"Starving" I say.

"Natalie?" he calls and I turn around to look at my mom and boyfriend who are still very busy in the kitchen.

"Yes, dear?"

"Stink monster is hungry" he says and mom chuckles. I turn to look at my dad and say offended "hey."

"What?" he asks innocently.

"I took a shower and I wear fresh clothes. I don't stink" I say pouting.

"Alright. I'll take it back" he says laughing.

"Lunch is almost ready" Tobias says.

"I'll set the table" I say.

"No. I'll do it" Tobias replies.

"Tobias, I'm not disabled. I can do this" I say getting up, but feel dizzy and fall back down on the sofa. "You win" I say and I hear him chuckle.

"Come on, sweetheart, let's finish our movie until lunch is ready" my dad says. I nod at him and keep watching.

By the time the end credits roll mom calls us to the dining table and my dad helps me walk the short way. I sit down next to Tobias and my dad next to my mom across from us. We eat a delicious broccoli soup with toasted bread and meatloaf with mashed potatoes. For dessert Tobias made some chocolate pudding, his favorite.

I eat so much that I think I might explode. Being on a crash-diet for two days really did it. Since mom and Tobias cooked, dad and I clean everything up. When Tobias first bought the dishwasher I thought he was exaggerating in spending points on something I could easily do with my own two hands, but now I'm glad he bought that thing regardless. We store everything inside and I turn it on, while my dad puts the leftovers in the refrigerator. We walk back to the living room and I sit down next to Tobias on the couch, while my dad takes a seat next to mom on the loveseat. We decide to watch another movie and this time we let mom pick one out. It's a romantic movie I've already watched with the girls one night when the guys were out for a drink. It's called Letters to Juliet. Dad puts in the movie and we start watching. After a while I look toward my parents who are cuddled together holding hands and looking so much younger than they are in reality. I hope that one day Tobias and I will be like them. Sitting happy on this very couch watching our children do their homework or preparing to go out on a date, get married and fill our house with grandchildren. Jeez, I'm really emotional today. We haven't been together for longer than three months and I already see us growing old. I should calm down. But nonetheless it would be the greatest thing that could happen. But both mom and Tobias are right. Having a baby now would be stupid and selfish. For one, I really want to spend a lot of time with Tobias and having a child would kind of getting in the way. We are young and still explore each other and this relationship and even though I know he's my soul mate and I will never love anyone ever again I want to enjoy or couple time as much as I can. Having a baby now would also affect my work as a leader and council member. There's so much I still want to do and achieve and having a baby would be a setback, because I know for sure I would never put my work before my family, especially not my child. And it also wouldn't be fair toward my child to not be there for him or her since I would always have to be at work and I don't want to leave my baby with a nanny or daycare. At least not right away. I do want a child and soon, but there's still a lot to do before we even start talking about this. I don't want to have children out of wedlock. I lay my head on Tobias's shoulder and enjoy this time we have together. He holds me close to him and I soon feel sleepy again. I fight it as much as I can, but soon fall asleep.

I open my eyes and blink a few times to adjust to the dim light in the room. I look around and recognize the bedroom. I sit up and look to my left but Tobias is nowhere to be seen. I look toward the bathroom but there's no light, which means he's not in there either. I get out of bed and walk downstairs to see if he's there. He isn't there. I feel hungry and walk to the kitchen without turning the lights on. I'm so familiar with this apartment that I could walk around here blindfolded and still find my way. I open the fridge and take out the meatloaf and the potatoes. I put some on a plate and warm it up in the microwave. I take a fork and knife to the dining table, as well as a napkin and then return to the kitchen to get my plate. I sit down with my back turned toward the balcony and start eating in the dark. I'm almost done when I hear the door open and Tobias comes in. He turns on the lights and walks past me, never noticing me downstairs and probably goes to the bedroom.

"Tris?" I hear him call a little loud before he comes downstairs in a rush. When he sees me he calms down for a moment before he looks angry at me. I chew what I had in my mouth and swallow it before asking "what?"

"Why didn't you say anything when I entered?" he asks sitting down on the chair opposite to me.

"I had my mouth full. Where did you think I went anyway?" I ask taking another bite.

"I thought something might have happened to you" he says a little defeated.

"Like what? I'm home. I woke up and you where gone and came down looking for you. I got hungry and decided to eat something" I say after I swallow again.

"Why didn't you turn on the lights?" he asks.

"The light hurts my eyes" I say and he gets up, no doubt to turn it off. "Don't" I say and he sits back down. "I'm already used to it. You want some?" I ask pointing toward my plate.

"No, thank you. I ate before I left" he says.

"Where were you anyway?" I ask taking another bite.

"To drive your parents home. It's past seven and they were tired."

"What? I slept again so much" I ask looking toward the clock on the opposite wall.

"Yeah" he says with a chuckle. "You fell asleep during the moving and I carried you upstairs to let you rest properly. We thought you would wake up soon, but you took a very long nap" Tobias says smiling.

"Damn. I swear I'm sleeping more than I'm awake these days" I say exasperatedly. Tobias laughs at my outburst.

"You're healing, honey. It's better you sleep it off."

"Yeah, you are right. I just feel so useless" I say pushing my plate away. He stands up and comes to sit next to me, pulling me into his arms.

"You are not useless. And look" he says pointing toward my plate "yesterday you barely ate anything and today you ate like I've kept you starving around here" he says and I chuckle. "You're getting better. Besides one day I'll be sick and feel like I'm useless. It would be nice if my loving girlfriend would tell me that I'm actually useful around the house" he says and we start laughing.

"You are useful, not just around the house. And thank you" I say and kiss his cheek.

"Don't mention it. What do you want to do? You wanna go to bed or watch a movie?" he asks while getting up and taking my plate with him.

"Movie. Let's watch a comedy. I really need some laughter" I say.

"Alright. You pick" he says while putting my plate into the dishwasher.

"No, you pick. I'll go upstairs and brush my teeth" I say already walking up the stairs.

I'm there and back in no time and cuddle close to Tobias on the couch and just enjoy our sweet time together. For once I don't fall asleep in the middle of the movie and walk upstairs hand in hand with Tobias. He changes into his PJ's and we snuggle before we both fall peacefully asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think Tobias will do now that Marcus woke up? Will he visit him in the hospital?
> 
> And what about Tris's strange dreams about this little boy?
> 
> And more importantly: what shall Tris get Tobias for his birthday? BTW in my story his birthday is November 2nd.
> 
> Waiting for suggestions.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't know I update every other day, unless something is terribly wrong.
> 
> Also, smut at six o'clock.
> 
> Enjoy!

31

I wake up Sunday morning feeling better than ever. I manage to get out of Tobias's tight embrace and walk into the bathroom unnoticed. I get rid of my clothes, making sure a towel and my bathrobe are nearby and walk into the shower. I turn on the water and let it warm up before stepping under the shower head. I let the warm water wash over my body enveloping me like a silky robe when two strong arms wrap me into a tight embrace. I lean my head back and enjoy the feel of Tobias's naked body.

"Good morning, love" he huskily says into my ear sending a shiver through my body.

"Good morning, honey." Tobias leans down and kisses my neck and I moan loudly.

"I've missed you" he says licking my left ear.

"I've missed you too" I say swallowing past the lump in my throat.

"I want you" he says biting my shoulder and leaving a mark. God, I want him too. It's been too long.

"Then take me" I manage to say before he turns me around in one swift movement, picks me up into his arms and presses me into the tile wall. I wrap my arms and legs around his firm body and we kiss frantically. We only part to draw in much needed air before resuming our fevered make out session.

He holds me tight to his body with one arm while caressing my body with his free hand. He finds my heated center and inserts one finger and starts a rapid in and out pace that almost makes me come.

"More" I say between thrusts. He obliges and inserts a second finger and moves both in and out as well as parting them while inside me as much as he can. The sensation is so wonderful that I come undone and Tobias muffles my scream of pleasure by kissing my mouth expertly. When I start coming down from my high I feel him moist his cock with my juices before he enters me agonizingly slowly. He starts a leisurely back and forth pace that drives me crazy and I breathlessly say "faster". He increases the pace and I pull him closer to me. He pushes me more and more into the wall as his own climax approaches. We kiss almost primal and when he circles my throbbing clit with his thumb I throw my head back and come hard, his own orgasm ripping through him shortly. His knees give out and we both slide down to the ground, me in his lap and he still deeply sheathed inside me. We pant heavily but look at each other happy.

"I love you" he says when he's able to speak again.

"I love you too" I say kissing his lips softly. He hugs me close to him and puts his head on my shoulder for a moment. We both enjoy it to the fullest, but when he pulls away he looks at me shocked.

"Honey, I'm so sorry" he says.

"What are you talking about?" I ask confused.

"I bit you" he says pointing toward the bite mark on my shoulder.

"Oh, that. Never mind" I say dismissing it easily.

"What do you mean never mind? I hurt you. I vowed never to do that" he says firmly.

"Relax. It was in the heat of the moment. Besides I marked my territory too" I say and point to his left shoulder where I scratched him. Not to mention his back.

"Huh, I haven't even noticed that" he says surprised.

"Does it bother you?" I ask.

"Not at all."

"See? Me neither. Besides how else will people know that you are off limits?" I ask and he laughs.

"Is it me or did you just compare our passionate love making with a dog's habit of marking his territory?"

"Kind of" I say laughing.

"You are crazy" he says.

"About you" I reply.

"And I'm crazy about you." He smiles at me before his gaze travels down toward my chest. His eyes widen and I look toward where he's looking. Ah, yeah. My tattoo. "You got a new raven" he says staring at it.

"Not just any raven. Yours" I say and he looks into my eyes. He leans in to kiss me, but in that exact same moment I turn my head away and sneeze. "Bless you" he says.

"Thanks" I say wiping my nose. "We should finish here before I get sicker than I already am." We stand up and quickly shower sharing a few kisses, but making sure not to ignite a new fire between us. I step outside and quickly put my bathrobe on and towel dry my hair. When the towel is too wet I take out the hair dryer and finish drying it. While I'm doing this I think of cutting my hair. I never did that before. Maybe it's time to make some changes in this department as well. I think I'll talk to Christina about this when I get better.

I put on some fresh underwear and clothes and walk downstairs to find Tobias in the kitchen. He's making us breakfast. I sit down at the island and watch him work.

"Watcha doing?" I ask and he turns around smiling.

"Scrambled eggs and bacon" he says. "A hearty meal for athletes" he says smirking.

"I doubt having sex in the shower is a sport" I say.

"Maybe, but if it were we would be champions" he says proudly.

"If someone would hear you they would think we do this every day."

"Maybe we should" he says turning his attention back to our breakfast.

"We could, but we would be late every morning" I say.

"Probably."

We decide to eat in the living room while watching another movie. I absolutely love this time we spend together. Some might think it's boring, but it really isn't. We talk about small things and basically get to know each other more. When we finish I get up and take the dishes with me to clean them. He wants to protest but before he can say anything his phone rings.

"Saved by the ring" he says and I laugh.

He answers his phone but I can't hear what he's saying since I put the dishes into the dishwasher and turn it on to clean them. When I return to the couch he's still talking on the phone but tells the person on the other side to hang on. He puts his right hand over the phone to muffle our conversation.

"You up for some company?" he asks whispering.

"Who's coming?" I ask.

"The whole gang" he answers.

"Alright. I've been locked up here for too long. Tell them to bring some Dauntless cake. I'm dying to eat some" I say and he chuckles.

"You do love Dauntless cake. It's a good thing we work out a lot" he says smirking.

"Are you calling me fat?" I ask trying to act offended, but can't manage to not smile.

"I'm saying, if eating Dauntless cake motivates you to work out some more I'm all for it" he says grinning.

"Perv."

"So, yes?"

"Yes what?"

"Can they come over?" he says tilting his head toward the phone.

"Yeah, sure."

"It's alright. When? Okay. See you guys soon" he says into the phone before hanging up.

"Could you do me a favor?" I ask and he nods his head. "While I take this" I point toward my medication and blanket on the couch "upstairs, could you clear the air in here?"

"Sure. Stay in our bedroom while the balcony door is open. I don't want you to get sicker."

"Of course. When are they coming?"

"Half an hour, according to Zeke."

"Alright. Do we have enough refreshments for everybody?"

"I'll check and if not I'm going downstairs to the Pit to buy some. Is there something you need?" he asks and I think for a moment.

"Some toothpaste and could you buy me a bottle of shampoo. Mine is almost empty" I say.

"Sure. Orange blossom shampoo, right?" he asks.

"Yeah" I answer and kiss his cheek before gathering the blanket under my left arm and grab the medicine boxes in my right hand. While I walk up the stairs I hear Tobias opening the balcony door. I deposit the boxes on my vanity table and fold the blanket and leave it on the bed. I grab my phone and call mom.

"Hi mom" I say when she answers.

"Hello sweetheart. How are you feeling today?" she asks.

"I'm better, thanks for asking. I wanted to apologize."

"What for?" she asks confused.

"I fell asleep again yesterday."

"Honey, don't be ridiculous. You are sick. You need your rest" she says.

"Thanks mom. How's dad?"

"He went to the hospital to check on Marcus" she says serious.

"Really? I forgot about him. Did Tobias go yesterday after all?" I ask.

"No. He dropped us off and said he would go straight back home to you. That boy loves you very much" my mom says with a chuckle.

"And I love him. Listen, could you call me when dad gets back. I want to know how Marcus is. He's not my favorite person in the world, but he is Tobias's father and even though he says he doesn't care I know he does, deep down."

"Don't worry, I will. As for your request" she says "I picked out a few dishes that Tobias mentioned that he liked and would like to know how to make."

"That's wonderful mom. I could learn from you and then I could teach him. We love to cook together. Actually we love doing everything together, even cleaning the apartment" I say laughing.

"That's good. I'm happy you too help each other out."

"Thanks mom. I have to go. Our friends wanted to come over and Tobias went to get some refreshments. I have to go downstairs and close the balcony door before the temperature in the apartment drops too much" I say.

"Alright. Have a nice time with your friends, but don't exert yourself" she says concerned.

"Don't worry. If there's any sign of it I'm sure Tobias will personally kick everyone out and put me under bed arrest" I say with a chuckle.

"You mean bed rest" my mom corrects me.

"No, no. I meant arrest. Gotta go mom. Love you."

"I love you too, Beatrice. Tell Tobias that I love him as well."

"I'll do that. Bye."

"Goodbye."

I hang up and walk downstairs and find the balcony door open. I walk over to close it when Tobias opens the front door.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Closing the balcony door" I say a little confused.

"Tell me you weren't outside in the cold" he says walking toward me, the grocery bag still in his arm.

"Of course not. I just came downstairs to close it. You think I like being sick? It sucks."

"I'm sorry. I saw you there and thought you went outside. It's getting colder everyday and you are still recovering."

"I know that. You are worse than a doctor and my mom combined, you know that?" I ask and he furrows his eyebrows.

"I love you and don't want anything bad happening to you" he says cupping my cheek. I lean into his touch and smile.

"I know. But quit treating me like a porcelain doll. I might get sick or hurt sometimes. Doesn't mean I'm going to break. Hell, if I survived initiation I sure as hell will survive a cold or maybe even a broken bone" I say dramatically. He chuckles and relaxes a bit. He knows I'm not going to let him treat me like an invalid.

"Alright. I'll put these away" he says pointing toward the bag in his arm. I nod and close the balcony door. I soon join him in the kitchen and help him store the groceries away.

"You bought jelly beans?" I ask beaming.

"Yeah, I saw them and remembered how much you like them" he says smiling.

"Oh thank you" I say kissing his cheek. "I love you, I love you, I love you" I say and kiss his cheek with each "I love you".

"I love you too" he says laughing at my childish behavior. "I have to say you are very easy pleased. Before I met you I had to listen to Zeke and the other guys that their girlfriends are driving them nuts with all their demands. Zeke teased me that I will soon experience something similar when we announced that we are together" he tells me.

"And?"

"And what?"

"Am I demanding girlfriend?"

"No, not at all. You are my partner in everything. Besides there isn't a single thing in this world I would deny you" he solemnly says and my heart swells.

"Can I have a kitten?" I ask and he raises an eyebrow.

"A kitten? Why?"

"You said you would give me everything I want" I say pouting.

"I'm not saying no to you, I'm merely asking why."

"Would be nice to have one. I never had a pet while growing up" I say.

"Me neither. But before we get a pet do we really want it" he asks and I open my mouth but he stops me with a quick peck on the lips. "Before you say again that I promised to give you everything, I meant are we ready to take care of another being. We are barely at home and when we are well we spend that time in bed" he says smirking.

"You are right. But promise me when things settle down and we have some help we talk about it again" I say hugging him.

"I promise" he says and kisses my forehead. "By the way, Tori called yesterday after you fell asleep. She wants to give it a try. Her internship will start on Monday and will last two weeks" he informs me.

"That's great. Talking about work. I still need to prepare for tomorrow" I say.

"What do you mean?" he asks furrowing his eyebrows.

"The council meeting, remember? Dad said I could present my idea to the council" I say.

"You are not going" Tobias says and I'm furrowing my eyebrows now.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You are still sick."

"I'm fine."

"You are not. You need to get better. If you go out tomorrow you will lose all the progress you made. Do you want that?"

"Of course not, but I'm fine. I swear."

"Tris, just once listen to me. I don't want you to get worse. Do you like staying at home all day, sleeping?"

"No."

"See? If you don't heal properly you'll get sicker before you get better. Not to mention you will make others sick too. You sneeze, cough and you have a slight fever" he says.

"No I don't" I say and he comes to me and kisses my forehead.

"Yes, you do. Besides your dad already told me to tell you not to come in tomorrow." I want to protest and he adds. "If you don't believe me just call him" he says.

"I believe you. You would never lie to me."

"Damn right I wouldn't. Now, are we on the same page or do I need to take my leave to keep you at home?" he asks smirking.

"I bet you'd like that" I say.

"There's nothing I like more than spending time with you. But the sole thought of needing to take time off because you are sick makes my heart ache. I want you to be healthy and happy."

"I am happy. But sometimes I get sick or you'll get sick. But I'm happy. Always. Even when we fight I know that we always come back to each other."

"I don't want us to fight" he says seriously.

"Me neither. But we will sometimes. I would rather have it we argue for five minutes than hold a grudge for days."

"I agree."

"By the way, I talked to mom while you were gone. She says hi and she asked me to tell you that she loves you" I say smiling.

"I love her too. She's been so great. Sometimes I feel like she's my mom, not yours" he says with a slight blush.

"Well she loves you like a son. Both my parents do. And I'm so glad about that, especially after my dad found out about our relationship."

"Yeah, seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?" he asks and I nod my head. A knock on the door startles us both a little and we start laughing. Tobias goes to answer it and lets all our friends in.

"Hey guys" I say coming to greet them.

"Hey Tris" they all say at once.

We invite them in and while I sit down with our guests Tobias puts the cake in the fridge and makes some tea and coffee. We chat for a while before Lynn puts in a movie. The movie starts and the title says Night at the museum.

"What's a museum" Uriah asks.

"It's a place where things from the past are exhibited" Will explains and Uriah raises an eyebrow.

"How do you know this?" he asks.

"I was Erudite, remember?" Will asks.

"Oh, right."

"I wonder how a museum looked like" Shauna says.

"Big" I answer.

"How do you know?" Shauna asks me.

"It had to be big" Will jumps in. "Otherwise how could all those things from the past be displayed. We are talking here about thousands of years of evolution."

"You mean the things we've learned in school where actually displayed in this museum thing" Uriah asks curiously.

"How else do you think our books got the pictures" Will asks sarcastically.

"I thought someone just drew them" Uriah offers.

"And how could someone do that without seeing it first?" Lynn asks.

"I wish I could see one" Marlene says.

"See what?" Christina asks.

"A museum of course" Marlene answers.

"Me too" Christina adds.

"Unfortunately, we don't have a museum anymore" Tobias says. "It was destroyed during the war."

"Yeah, I remember learning about that in Upper Levels" Zeke adds.

"Still, I would love to see one" Marlene says with a sigh.

"I saw one" I say and every pair of eyes turns to look at me.

"Where?" Tobias asks skeptically.

"In the city, of course" I answer.

"Would you mind sharing or is it supposed to be so cryptic?" Zeke asks and I give him a dirty look.

"No need to be sarcastic, Zeke." This seems to startle him. I'm usually nice to everyone. He raises his hands in defeat.

"Good said, girlfriend" Shauna says smirking. "Suits you right."

"Tris, where is the museum?" Marlene asks impatiently.

"It's near Candor" I answer.

"How do you know that?" Lynn asks.

"One time I had a fight with my brother and I ran away from home" I say and they all look shocked. "What?"

"You ran away? That's not very Abnegation-like" Zeke says, a little bit teasing and I see Tobias elbowing him.

"It happens. Besides I obviously started showing Dauntless traits" I say grinning.

"Go on" Shauna prompts.

"Alright. So I had the fight and stormed out of the house. I passed the factionless sector and kept going. I didn't even realize that I walked that much when I reached a wide building. The façade was collapsed and it didn't seem like anyone ever tried to rebuild it, like I saw with other buildings in the city. I would have walked passed it if I wouldn't have heard a noise. On top of the rubble was a kitten that seemed lost. I climbed up to get it, but when I was close enough it turned around and ran down the rubble. I followed it and found myself in a huge room. You wouldn't have expected it from the outside, but other than a few pieces of the ceiling on the ground the room looked just dusty. I looked around and was amazed by what I saw. Thankfully there was enough daylight streaming in through the cracks that I could see everything. When I found the kitten near the stairs I was tempted to climb them and explore more. But I knew that if I leave this place I might not find my way back, especially in the dark. I picked up the kitten and climbed back out. When I finally reached the bottom a factionless man approached me. I got scared at first, but then the kitten jumped out of my arms and ran toward him. It was his. We started talking and he told me that this building used to be a museum. When I asked him how he knew he told me he used to be Erudite."

"Wow" Christina, Shauna, Lynn, Marlene and Uriah say at the same time.

"How old were you?" Zeke asks me.

"I think I was five, maybe six" I say.

"WHAT?" Tobias shouts.

"What?" I ask confused.

"Are you kidding me? You ran away when you were only five years old?" he asks a little less loud.

"Or six" I say.

"Have you lost your mind?" he asks and I raise an eyebrow.

"What's up with you?" I ask a little angry.

"Are you serious? You ran away at five and you don't see why this is upsetting?" he asks.

"It was for my parents. I don't see how it is for you" I say just as loud.

"Four, man, calm down. It's eleven years ago" Zeke tries to calm him.

"Yeah, what's your problem?" I ask.

"My problem is that you are still that reckless child" he says.

"I'm not a child. And why am I reckless again?"

"Oh, where to start? You run away from home at five, you climb into a damaged building, disregarding that it might fall down on you and you talk to strangers" he says still angry.

"First of all, Four, lose the tone. I'm neither an initiate or some dumb bimbo you can boss around. Second, I was five I didn't know better. Third, if that fucking building would have collapsed we wouldn't be having this conversation. And as for that factionless man I was raised to help and I was taken to the factionless sector many times. I admit it was foolish looking at it now. But he was nice and even walked me home to Abnegation" I say staring at Tobias.

"He could have hurt you" I hear Will say and I turn to glare at him. I don't need them to gang up on me.

"Tris, you just don't get it" Tobias says a little calmer.

"Get what? That you are exaggerating?"

"I'm exaggerating?" he asks furious again.

"Yeah, you. We are talking about something that happened way back."

"The problem here is that you are still the same reckless chi… person. You don't take care of yourself."

"Like when I closed the balcony door and you thought I stayed outside in the cold? I've got some news for you. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. And one more thing" I say and get in his face. "You are not my boss." I storm of and walk up the stairs. I go into our bedroom and slam the door. I let myself fall onto the bed and I start crying. What the hell just happened? We argued before but never like this. And what's his problem?

I curl into a ball and cry even more. I grab a pillow close to me and realize when I inhale that it is his. I continue crying when I suddenly feel very tired. I close my eyes and let the fatigue get me. When I open them again I'm in the meadow near Abnegation. I look around and see that I'm alone, but then I hear a noise coming from above. I look up and see my son in the tall oak tree. I smile at him and he smiles back.

"Look, mommy" he says cheerful.

"Yes, baby, I see."

The boy sits on a branch playing with the green leaves. He suddenly jumps up and my heart starts pounding in my chest.

"Look, mommy, birdy" he says pointing toward a bird nest at the end of the branch. He starts taking small steps toward it and I nearly freak out.

"Honey, please, come back down, it's not safe" I say but he slips and falls to the ground. I look at his nonmoving body for a split second before I run toward my baby and gather him in my arms. His little head is bleeding and he doesn't react. "Please, please wake up" I plead and I feel hot tears running down my cheeks. "Help, somebody help. Tobias, Tobias" I keep yelling. I pull my baby closer to my chest and cry even more before darkness envelopes me.

I'm lost. My little angel is dead. Why did I let him climb that tree? I'm a terrible mother! My sweet baby boy, I've failed you.

I feel shaking. I try to open my eyes but I find it difficult. The shaking gets stronger and I feel myself pulled toward light. I manage to open my eyes and look into Tobias's concerned ones.

"Tris, thank God you woke up" he says.

"Four, is she alright?" I hear Christina say, but can't see her.

"She will be. Could you please leave us alone for a minute" he says and I hear the door close. "Tris, honey, what happened?" he asks me concerned.

"Tobias, my baby. I lost him" I say sobbing into his chest. I cling to him for dear life and he rocks me gently to calm me down.

"Sweetheart, what happened?"

"I was in the meadow and our boy was playing on a branch. I should have gotten him down from there, but I didn't. He fell, my baby fell to the ground and didn't move. He's dead. I let this happen" I cry harder.

"Sweetheart, please calm down. It wasn't real. We don't have a baby. It was just a dream, terrible, but just a dream. He is not dead because he wasn't even born yet" he tries to comfort me.

"But I let it happen. I'm a terrible mother" I say looking up at him.

"No, you are not" he says brushing the tears away.

"I'm so sorry, Tobias. You were right. I'm reckless. And it made me lose my son" I say.

"Tris, honey please, he wasn't real" he says pulling me closer to him.

"I promise I won't do it again" I say.

"Do what?" he asks confused.

"I won't be reckless again. I'm so sorry. You were right. When it was just my well-being I didn't care, I could handle it. But when I let my son play on that branch I realized how scared I am for him. When he fell I felt my world break apart and I died with him. I never realized that before" I say.

"That's how I feel every time you are in danger. I'm sorry too, sweetheart. You were right also. I'm not your boss, but I can't help worrying about you. You are my everything and I would die without you. I'm not telling you this to scold you or anything, I just want you to realize that every time you put yourself in a dangerous position you hurt me as well" he says and I look at him once more.

"I'm so sorry, honey. I never meant to hurt you" I say while the tears start to subside.

"I know. We need to work on our communication more" he says kissing my crown softly.

"I did a lot of stupid things when I was younger. I always dismissed them because nothing bad ever happened. But I'm not a fool. A ton of things could have gone wrong but I didn't care at the time."

"You are still reckless and that's what's bothering me. I know you understand the danger you put yourself into, but you still can't help it. You need to learn to be more careful. I don't want to lose you, but I don't want you to feel like I'm bossing you around. We are equals, but sometimes you are so thickheaded that I transform into your instructor again."

"It really pisses me off when you do that" I say and he wants to say something but I stop him by putting a finger over his lips. "but I know you do it because you love me. I promise I will think before I act from now on."

"That's all I wanted" he says with a small smile on his handsome face. "You okay?" he asks.

"I guess. Promise me something."

"Anything."

"When we have kids we never ever let them climb trees" I say.

"I think you are exaggerating" I glare at him "but I understand what you mean. I promise."

He kisses me softly and I melt into him. He lays me down and covers me with his body. He holds me close to him with his left arm allowing his right hand to explore my body. We get lost in each other's touches when a knock on our door pulls us out of our own little world.

"Everything okay in there?" I hear Shauna ask.

"Uhm, yeah, we're fine. We'll be out in a minute" Tobias quickly answers. When we hear her leave the door he looks down at me and smiles. "I totally forgot that we have company" he says and we both laugh.

"Me too. I'm sorry, baby. I love you."

"I love you too. Come one. Let's go downstairs before they get the wrong idea." He gets off of me and helps me up. I make a quick stop in the bathroom where I wash the tear stains off of my face. We walk downstairs hand in hand and I sit down on the couch next to Shauna and Tobias sits on the floor in front of me placing his right arm on my thighs.

"You guys okay?" Marlene asks concerned.

"Yeah" I say. "I'm sorry for before. We usually don't fight, especially not like this."

"It's okay. You should see how Shauna yells at Zeke when he screws up" Lynn says to lighten the mood.

"Only in this case I screwed up" I say in a low voice.

"We both said things we regret" Tobias says looking up at me. "Let's just forget it, okay you guys?"

"Yeah, we are here to watch a movie not daytime soap operas" Uriah says and we laugh.

Shauna starts the movie again and we all watch it, laugh during the funny parts and even shed a tear or two during the emotional parts. When the movie ends we decide it's time for lunch. Zeke and Tobias offer to go get some pizzas for all of us, while the rest stay back and talk about how awesome a museum would be. Especially one in which the exhibits come to life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided a while ago to explore the city a little more. According to the books the war happened a couple hundred years back. While a lot of things got destroyed I do believe that some are still recoverable. A museum would be a start. The general idea in the books was that everything that happened before The War becomes irrelevant once the faction system is put in place. I want to make them question the system. Not so much the necessity of having factions, but the hiding the truth part.


	32. Chapter 32

32

Tobias and Zeke are still out for our lunch and I decide to look for another movie to watch while we eat or for afterwards. I find two sequels to the one we have just watched and put them aside.

"Did you ever go back?" Christina asks startling me.

"Huh? Where?"

"The museum."

"Uhm, yeah."

"Really?" Uriah asks incredulous.

"Yeah. Only I had a flash light with me" I add.

"Did you go alone?" Marlene asks.

"Yeah. If I'm completely honest you guys are the only people, aside from my mom, who know about this. I never told anyone."

"What did you see?" Will ask curiously.

"A lot. Of course, I didn't know half of what I saw. I expected to learn about it in school, but whenever I asked about the past my teachers kept telling me about this city and what happened after the war. When I asked again they just looked at me like I'm a nuisance and dismissed me. At some point I just gave up. I looked for some answers in the public library, but couldn't find much."

"Why?" Lynn asks.

"Why what? Why I searched or why there were no answers?" I inquire.

"Why were there no answers" she replies.

"When the war ended and the faction system was put in place our ancestors decided to erase the past and start all over again" Will explains.

"That's stupid" Shauna says.

"It is" Will approves. "You can't just erase the past by not teaching about it. In my opinion it's the worst thing we can do."

"How so?" Uriah asks.

"Imagine you have a child. You teach that child not to touch scissors or fire or do anything dangerous. If the child would dismiss your warnings it would get hurt. If the child would touch a burning candle it would get himself burned, right?" Will asks and we nod. "If we would tell the child to forget the lesson it just learned it would repeat the mistake over and over again and never really learn anything."

"I understand" Christina says. "Because our ancestors made us forget our past we are prone to repeat the mistakes of the past."

"That's right" Will says.

"Maybe you can do something about it" Marlene says to me.

"Me? What?" I ask confused.

"You are part of the council. Maybe you can convince them to fix the museum and let us learn from our past" she explains.

"Maybe. I will try my best. There are a few places we can still look for answers. While I was a kid I wandered around the city a lot. I found the old city hall. Maybe we can find some information there."

"Don't you think our ancestors would have destroyed those documents a long time ago" Will wonders.

"Maybe. Hopefully not. I don't know anyone who knows about the old city hall. Do you?" I ask my friends.

"I don't even know where it is" Uriah says and the others nod in agreement.

"We could check it out when I get better. Unlike the museum it's in better shape."

"That'll be great" Marlene says.

"A real Dauntless adventure" Uriah says.

"What adventure?" Zeke asks coming in, followed closely by Tobias.

"Tris found the old city hall" Uriah announces.

"What?" Tobias asks. "We were gone for ten minutes. When did you find it?" he asks a little amused. I would have thought he would get mad again, but he smiles at me.

"A few years ago. By accident" I say. "and before you ask, the city hall is in much better condition than the museum."

"Why were you guys even talking about it?" Zeke inquires as he and Tobias prepare plates on the island.

"We asked Tris if she ever went back to the museum to explore it" Marlene says.

"And?" Tobias asks looking directly at me.

"I did. I saw many things but couldn't place them, since we never learned anything about it in school. That's what we talked about before you guys came back. After the war no one spoke of the past again. They practically erased it. We wanted to check out the city hall for information on the past, since the public library doesn't offer much" I tell them.

"And when will our noble quest begin" Zeke asks dramatically. I chuckle at his behavior.

"When I get better. I promised someone special to take more care of myself" I say glancing toward Tobias who smiles warmly.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving" Shauna says changing the subject.

"You guys wanna eat at the table or should we watch the sequel?" I ask.

"There's a sequel?" Zeke asks.

"Actually there are too" Christina tells him.

"Then by all means let us watch what happens next" Tobias says. I get up and help him and Zeke bring the pizza, while Marlene, Lynn and Shauna bring some drinks over. We put in the second movie and eat our lunch. Halfway through the movie we pause it to take the dirty dishes into the kitchen and I get the cake out. I cut it and divide it equally. Tobias, Zeke and Shauna help me carry the plates into the living room and we all enjoy it chit-chatting. I notice that Shauna doesn't eat and ask her if she's alright.

"You okay, Shauna?" I ask.

"Yeah. I'm just not in the mood for cake" she says and Uriah steals her slice.

"Hey" Zeke yells at his brother. "If anyone is entitled to eat that that's me" he says and we laugh. Suddenly Shauna gets up and runs into the bathroom. We all look dumbfounded after her and I get up to get a bottle of water out of the fridge. I knock on the bathroom door and tell her it's me and she opens it. I walk inside and close the door behind me looking her up and down. She looks awful. How else could she look after vomiting the content of her stomach.

"Are you okay?" I ask cautiously kneeling down next to her and rubbing her back soothingly.

"No" she says and starts crying. "What am I going to do?" she asks.

"What do you mean? What's wrong?" I ask her concerned.

"Remember that we had that appointment with your doctor on Friday. You couldn't come because you got sick" she says and I nod. "I really wish you would have been there" she says and looks up at me and sees guilt in my eyes although I don't know why I would feel guilty. It's not like I wanted to get sick. "I didn't mean it like that. Tris, something happened. Promise you won't tell anyone, not even Four" she begs and I promise her. "Tris, I'm pregnant" she says and starts crying again.

I'm quiet for a while. I don't know what to say. One of my best friends is pregnant at eighteen. She's young, but not younger than most women here in Dauntless when they first got pregnant. I want to comfort her, but I have no clue what to say or do.

"Does Zeke know?"

"No. I don't know if I'm going to tell him" she confesses but looks down at the floor.

"What do you mean? He is the father, right?"

"Of course he is" she says looking up angrily.

"Calm down" I say lifting my hands in defeat. "Why wouldn't you tell him?"

"I don't know if I'm going to keep the baby. I talked a lot to Addison. You were right, she is great. She talked to me about my options. I don't know what is right anymore" Shauna says and cries more.

"Shauna, I know this is none of my business, but you can't keep this from him."

"How can I tell him that I screwed up?" she asks looking at me like a child who just broke some expensive vase.

"You didn't screw up. It takes two to make a baby. I never was in this situation therefore I can't tell you what to do. And if I was it's still your decision. Yours and Zeke's. I can only try to put myself in your shoes" I say and she stops crying for a moment.

"If Addison would tell you that you are pregnant, would you tell Four?" she asks.

"Yes. We don't keep secrets from each other. I give it to you, it would be a shock for us both, but I wouldn't decide anything without him. It would be his baby too, not just mine. He has as much rights as responsibilities like I have. Besides if I would give up the baby I'm sure Tobias would never forgive me. He might want to try because he loves me, but it would be a betrayal. No, I would definitely tell him about it and we would decide together. No matter our decision we would get through it. But if you do this on your own he won't be able to trust you again."

"I'm scared Tris" she says looking down again.

"Of what?"

"Everything. I'm not ready to be a mom. I'm too young. And Zeke sure as hell isn't ready either. Sometimes he behaves worse than a child."

"I agree that the guys act sometimes like complete idiots. My guy included" I say and she chuckles. "But maybe you are underestimating Zeke and yourself. How do you know you would screw up? Besides not so long ago my mom told me that she was terrified when she found out about my brother. Same thing happened when she got pregnant with me."

"I don't know Tris."

"Listen. You don't have to decide anything right now. But you need to tell Zeke. He deserves to know."

"I know but…"

"Don't you love him?" I ask and she looks at me startled.

"Of course I do. What's with that question?"

"Do you trust him?"

"Yes" she says a little more determined.

"Then tell him. He will be shocked, but I believe he will like the idea of becoming a father. He is a good man and he loves you more than anything. And even if he is a bonehead you still have the rest of us to take care of you and the baby. As long as you decide on having the baby. And if you don't we will still be here for you. I will always be here for you" I say and she hugs me close to her and starts crying again.

"Thank you, Tris. Thank you so much." We pull apart and she wipes the tears off her face. "I will talk to him, but later when we get home."

"Of course, you don't need an audience. And if anyone asks you probably have the flu" I say.

"What?" she asks confused.

"You just ran into my bathroom to throw up. Since you won't tell people the real reason behind it I suggest you tell them you have the flu or something. It's a good excuse, I vomited a couple of times, so I know" I say smiling.

"Thanks for the tip" she says finally smiling again.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up" I say and help her get up. She washes her face and I give her a spare toothbrush to brush her teeth. When she looks more refreshed we get out and every pair of eyes turns to look at us. "What, you never saw two friends bonding in the bathroom?" I ask and they look startled.

"Is everything alright?" Zeke asks and comes to us.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I have the flu" Shauna says.

"You want to go home? Maybe you should lie down" he says clearly concerned.

"Uhm…" Shauna starts but I elbow her and she looks at me. I nod toward Zeke and he raises and eyebrow in confusion. "Yeah. Let's go home" she says. Zeke helps her walk and we say goodbye.

I go back to the couch and sit down pulling Tobias up to sit next to me. He wraps his arms securely around me and we continue watching the movie. He kisses my temple and my ear every once in a while and I smile to myself.

I'm hardly paying attention to the movie anymore. I have to think of Shauna and Zeke and their baby. I hope they keep it, but if they don't I won't judge them. I know that in Abnegation this wouldn't even be up for debate, but this is Dauntless. But I think they will keep it. I got to know them well enough to know that they will. And they will make great parents. Sure Zeke is a little crazy, but he's reliable, kind, honest and more importantly he loves Shauna more than anything in the world. Even a blind person could see that. I'm not even registering that the movie ended and Uriah put in the third one. Tobias tries to get up but I'm not moving and he starts tickling me.

"Hey" I say laughing. "What was that for?"

"I asked you to let me get up but you didn't hear me" he says smiling.

"Sorry" I say and move to let him get up. He goes into the bathroom and I turn toward my friends and ask them if they need anything.

"How about some hot chocolate?" Marlene asks.

"Do you even have any?" Christina asks.

"I don't know. I would have to check" I say and get up. I walk into the kitchen and look through the cabinets when Tobias comes in.

"What are you looking for?" he asks hugging me from behind. I lean into him and smile.

"Do we have hot chocolate?"

"Sure." He stretches and opens the cabinet above me and retrieves a metal box. He helps me make it and kisses my cheek every once in a while not saying anything.

We soon join our friends in the living room letting them each grab a mug with the hot delicious beverage. We resume our sitting position on the couch while enjoying the adventures of Larry, the night guard. When the movie is over it's already past seven p.m. and the rest of our friends say goodbye and leave us. Since none of us wanted to cook and we still had some pizza left from lunch we decide to eat that at the kitchen island. When we're done Tobias cleans up while I walk upstairs to brush my teeth. I'm not out of the bathroom when he comes in to brush his own. It's too early for bed and we just sit on the bed, Tobias leaning against the headboard and me leaning against his firm chest and sitting between his outstretched legs. He plays with my hair and I make tiny circles on his thigh.

"I'm sorry for today" I say.

"I'm sorry too. It wasn't fair of me to just pick a fight in front of all our friends."

"No, it wasn't. But it was my fault also. I shouldn't have overreacted like that, storming off like a child. No wonder you see me like one" I say in a slightly lower voice.

"I don't see you as a child. You are a beautiful, brave, intelligent woman and I'm lucky to have you as my girlfriend. If anyone behaved like a child today that's me. I shouldn't have yelled at you. And you were right, it was a long time ago."

"But you were right too. I still run with my head through walls instead of using the door" I say and he laughs. I turn around as much as the position I'm in allows me and smile up at him. "I love you, Tobias."

"I love you too, Tris" he says before our lips meet in a passionate kiss. When we part we smile at each other and Tobias pulls me even closer to his chest. "Let's never fight again" he says.

"Let's. But I doubt this will be the last one" I say and he kisses my right cheek.

"I know what you mean. We are both stubborn and thickheaded and simply stupid sometimes. But we'll manage. I love you too much to let a stupid fight come between us."

"I feel exactly the same. But we should try not to have a repeat of today. At least not in front of our friends. I know they are trustworthy and won't go around Dauntless and tell people what they've heard, but I don't want them to see us like this, period. Whatever shit we have to sort out it's our business and ours alone."

"I agree." We remain quiet for a while when Tobias asks me about Shauna. "So, what's up with Shauna?"

"She's got the flu. Just like me" I say not looking at him.

"I don't buy it. I know when you're lying even if I don't see your face. So?"

"I can't tell you. I promised her. When and if she wants to share this you will find out. Please, don't make me break my promise to my friend."

"I would never do that. But if there's anything she or Zeke need and they tell you please tell me as much as you can so that I can help. They are my friends, they are actually more like siblings to me and I love them. I don't want them to suffer or get hurt." I sit up and turn around. I cup his face and place a gentle kiss on his lips.

"I promise if there's something we both can do for any of our friends I will let you know. But Shauna and Zeke need to figure this out on their own."

"I so don't want to go to work tomorrow. I would rather spend the whole day with you in bed" he says smirking.

"Me too. I think I'm going to call Christina over if she has some spare time tomorrow. I was thinking of getting my hair cut and wanted to ask her what she thinks."

"You want to cut your hair?" he asks playing with a strand.

"Yeah. You don't want me too?"

"It's your hair, I can't forbid you to do what you want. I kind of like it. Why the change?"

"It's more practical than for some fashion reason. It took like forever to dry it the other day and sometimes I might oversleep or something and I don't want to be late. Shorter hair would help me a lot, especially during the winter season."

"Makes sense. But don't cut it too short, alright?"

"Wasn't my intention" I say and yawn.

"Maybe we should put our PJ's on, just in case" he says with a chuckle.

"You are right." I get up and change into my fluffy PJ's while Tobias does the same. We quickly get into bed and snuggle close to each other talking about our plans for tomorrow and the upcoming Halloween party, which reminds me to call the girls over to discuss their Haunted House idea. Tobias keeps playing with my hair until I fall asleep in his arms.

When I wake up the next morning Tobias just comes out of the shower with only a towel around his hips. I'm awake in seconds and desire takes over me. I jump out of bed and wrap my arms around his neck pulling him down to kiss him thoroughly. I press myself against his wet body and breathe in his scent. He sighs into my mouth and pulls me closer to him until he picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. He takes two huge steps toward my side of the bed and lays me down covering me with his body. We make love like so many other mornings and I feel like myself again.

We lay naked in each other's arms and enjoy the feeling of skin on skin. Tobias pulled the thick blanket over us, always aware that my condition might get worse.

"That was amazing" I say when I manage to speak again.

"Yeah, it was" he says panting. "I'm glad your appetite has returned" he says and I look up at him smiling. He kisses the tip of my nose before extracting himself from my arms and I pout. "Oh no, don't give me that face, young lady. I need to go to work and because of you I need to shower again."

"Don't tell me you regret it" I say turning my head to my left acting all offended. He leans down and places his index finger under my chin, turning my head toward him. He kisses me softly and I smile.

"I never regret making love to you, my beautiful angel" he says and I blush at his compliment. "You're so cute when you blush, you know that?" he asks with a chuckle and walks into our bathroom. I know I might make him more late than he probably will be but I can't help myself and jump out of bed walking quickly into the bathroom to join him in the shower.

"Thought you might need some help" I say when I enter the cabin.

"Honey, as much as I love you and making love to you I really have to go to work" he says and I know he's telling the truth.

"I know, don't worry. I'll behave. Cross my heart" I say crossing my heart with my right index finger "and hope to die." He laughs and kisses my lips quickly.

"Alright. You mind washing my back?"

"Not at all." He pours some of his body wash into my palms and I start rubbing them together. I wash his back and notice a few knots. "Baby, when you come back later let me give you a massage" I say and he turns around smiling.

"You haven't done that in a while" he says.

"Well, it's about time I spoil my wonderful boyfriend a little. Are you coming home for lunch?"

"No. I will go to the council meeting with Tori" he says.

"Are you sure?" I ask and step in front of him taking my shampoo bottle and wash my hair while he's doing the same with his.

"Yeah. You can't go and I'm the only other leader. Besides my father won't be there. It'll be fine."

"Alright. What do you want for breakfast?" I ask him and he thinks for a moment.

"I think I'll have just some coffee. I don't have much time" he says.

"I'm not letting you leave without eating first. We have some muffins and a few bananas left. I'll go shopping later."

"You shouldn't go out" he says concerned. I'm turning of the water and step out of the shower. I put my bathrobe on and wrap my hair in a towel.

"I need to go to the Pit anyways. And I'll go to the infirmary to get myself checked out. I want to get rid of this stupid cold once and for all."

"I'm glad to hear that, but I still think you shouldn't go out."

"And how am I supposed to be checked out?"

"We could call a doctor here" he suggests and I raise an eyebrow.

"No way. This" I say pointing around "is our home, our sanctuary. I don't want anyone other than friends and family come here."

"Okay. But take someone with you in case you feel weak. And before you argue if you aren't doing it for you do it for me" he says and gives me his puppy dog eyes.

"Alright. Enough with the emotional blackmail, mister. I was planning on taking one of the girls anyway."

"Good." He kisses my forehead and walks into the bedroom to put on some clothes while I walk downstairs into the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee. By the time he's done getting dressed I pour him some coffee in his mug and hand it to him.

"Here, eat this muffin" I say handing him one.

"Thank you, love."

"You're welcome, baby. Now go, before I undress your sexy ass and have my way with you right here on this kitchen island" I say grinning.

"Wouldn't be a first" he says and kisses me on the cheek, before fleeing the apartment laughing.

I look at the closed door and smile.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Watch The Divergent Series: Insurgent Google Live stream here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fMhYaVoo7k

33

I walk up the stairs to my bedroom and look for the warmest clothes I got. I put them on and dry my hair. When I'm done I pick up my phone and look for Christina's number when a thought occurs to me. I dial the number and wait for the call to be answered.

"Hello?" I hear on the other side.

"Hi Shauna, it's Tris."

"Hi Tris. What can I do for you?" she asks cheerful.

"You busy or could you come over?" I ask.

"I'm off this morning. I'll be right over" she says. We hang up and I walk downstairs again to wait for her to arrive. It doesn't take long and I hear a knock on my door. I walk over and open it to find a smiling Shauna standing in front of me.

"I gather the talk went well yesterday" I say inviting her in.

"Better than well. I was so scared, but then I remembered what you told me and I took a deep breath and told him everything. He was shocked and stayed quiet for a while. I really thought he would be pissed, but then he started smiling like he never did before. He picked me up and spun me around until I had to stop him because it made me dizzy. He was so happy when I told him that I suddenly felt so silly for even thinking he wouldn't want the baby" she tells me happy and I'm glad for her. For both of them.

"Does this mean you keep the baby?"

"Yes, Tris. I'm going to be a mom" she says hugging me.

"I'm so happy for the two of you. I mean three" I say when we pull apart.

"I just have to ask you something" she says seriously. I nod for her to continue. "Please, don't tell anyone. We want to keep this a secret for the time being."

"Of course. But you have to know that Four asked me about it. I haven't told him what is going on, but I couldn't lie to him. He knows you don't have the flu, but he respects the fact that I gave you my word to keep this between us" I tell her.

"He can know. I actually think Zeke went to see Four to tell him the good news himself."

"That's great, but I don't know if he's still in his office. He is taking my place today during the council meeting" I tell her.

"Zeke called him before you called me. Zeke is probably telling him right now that…" she says but gets interrupted when the door bursts open and Tobias comes practically flying in. He takes a few huge steps to the couch where Shauna and I are currently sitting and pulls her into a bear hug.

"Congratulations, sister" Tobias says. I've never seen him like this. I knew that both Shauna and Zeke are his closest friends, bordering on siblings, but I never witnessed it firsthand.

"Thank you, Four" she says. I turn around and see Zeke standing behind me and I get up. I hug him close to me and congratulate him as well.

"Congrats, Zeke. I wish you the best in the world."

"Thank you, Tris. But I already got the best" he says glancing toward Shauna. I know what he means. That's how I feel about Tobias. "And thank you for yesterday" he says into my ear and I look at him confused. "Shauna told me that the two of you talked" he says.

"Don't mention it. You guys are not just Four's friends, you're mine as well" I say and Zeke hugs me.

"Damn right we are, baby sister" he says and I giggle at the new nickname.

"Guys, I'm sorry. I have to go now" Tobias says. He hugs Shauna again, then pats Zeke's back and kisses me on the lips. "I love you" he says to me.

"I love you too. Have a nice day, honey."

"You too. Bye guys."

"Bye Four" Shauna and Zeke say at the same time.

"I have to go also" Zeke says. We say good bye and soon Shauna and I are alone again.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Shauna asks.

"Yeah. Well I wanted to see how you are today and ask for a favor" I say bashfully.

"Anything" she says smiling.

"I never got to go shopping for those thicker clothes and I really need them. Would you mind if we go to the Pit and buy some stuff?"

"Not at all."

I get my phone and keys, as well as one of Tobias's jackets. I lock the door behind me and Shauna and I walk down to the Pit talking about baby stuff. She tells me that after the initial shock both she and Zeke got very excited about the prospect of becoming parents. While they are both nervous they know that they can rely on each other and on their friends to help them. We walk into Shauna's favorite shop and I try on different outfits. It takes us more than half an hour to shop before we walk out both with our hands full. I ask her if she would mind coming with me to the infirmary for a check-up and she agrees.

We walk down the well lit hallway of the infirmary wing and to my surprise we run into the last person I would have suspected to see here.

"Addison?" I ask incredulous.

"Hello Tris, hello Shauna" she greets us smiling.

"Hi Addison" Shauna says.

"Hi, What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Dr. Morris asked me to come here to instruct one of your nurses to attend the female Dauntless in case of an OBGYN emergency" she tells us. "How are you feeling? Shauna told me that you got sick" she says a little concerned.

"I'm feeling better. Thanks for asking. I actually came down here for a check-up. Which reminds me, I never came to get my shot" I say in a slightly lower voice. While I'm comfortable talking about it in front of Shauna I don't want anyone else hearing me.

"How about we get in here" she says motioning us into the examining room to her right. "So, Tris, about your shot. You were scheduled to come in last Friday, because this Friday I have somewhere I need to be. Do you want to talk about this alone" she asks looking toward Shauna.

"No, she's my friend. It's alright. I know that last Friday were only three weeks and I should still be protected, but I want to be sure."

"You should be. The shot is effective between twenty eight and thirty days. Did you take any antibiotics during the time you were sick?" she asks and I think for a moment.

"I'm not sure."

"Do you remember the names on the boxes?" she asks. I think again before I answer.

"Aspirin, Chlorpheniramine and Noscapine" I answer.

"The compound in the birth control shot is really powerful, but you should avoid having sex while taking them. Your immune system is weaker now than usually and…" she stops and looks at me concerned. "What is wrong?"

"Uhm, you mean I might get pregnant if I have sex while I'm taking these pills?" I ask and I feel my knees weak.

"Tris, what's wrong? You are pale all of a sudden" Shauna says worried.

"Tris, calm down. Breathe in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth" Addison says to me. "Shauna, please bring a chair." I sit down on the chair that Shauna brought and try to calm down.

"Tris, are you okay?" Shauna asks me but I can't formulate words, never mind sentences.

"I had sex" I choke out and start crying.

"Sweetie, calm down" Addison says soothingly. "While the flu medication might affect the birth control shot it's not one hundred percent certain that you are pregnant. How many times did you have sex since you started taking the pills?"

"Uhm, twice" I answer weakly.

"Alright. When?"

"Yesterday and then this morning" I answer automatically without thinking too much about it.

"Alright. How many times did you take your pills yesterday and today?"

"Yesterday twice, in the morning and then later in the afternoon. I forgot to take them this morning" I say.

"Alright. It would be still too early to take a test to check if you got pregnant or not. We need to wait at least two weeks to get a right result, otherwise it would be inconclusive" she tells me.

"What? Two weeks? I can't go that long without knowing" I say jumping up.

"Tris, calm down. Most likely you aren't even pregnant. Listen, the Dauntless infirmary has its own stock of birth control shots. I will go get and administer it now. Wait here" she says and walks through the door we came in.

"Shauna, what am I going to do?" I ask looking down.

"Relax and breathe" she says. "Remember that yesterday I asked you this same question?" I look up at her and she smiles. "I know it's not planned, but wouldn't it be awesome if we would be pregnant together?" I look at her in shock. I sit back down on the chair and try to calm down.

"I'm not ready for this. Not yet" I say.

"No one is ever ready. Besides you heard what Addison said. You might not even be pregnant. It could only be a false alarm" she says trying to comfort me.

"I know, but still. These we'll be the longest two weeks of my life" I say. "Please, don't tell anyone until I know for sure" I ask her and she nods.

Addison comes back in and administers my shot. She agrees to check me out otherwise as well and we make an appointment for two weeks from now to check if I'm pregnant or not. I thank her and Shauna and I leave the infirmary. She offers to stay with me a while longer but I need to be alone right now. We say goodbye and I walk up the stairs to my apartment.

The moment I'm inside I let the bags fall down and I slide down the entrance door crying. I feel so lost. I feel like my whole world is turned upside down. What am I going to do if I am pregnant? I know I said I wanted my baby, but it's too soon. I'm not ready yet. I pull my knees close to my chest and hug them tightly. What is Tobias going to say? Yesterday when it was Shauna crying on my bathroom floor I seemed to handle the situation. Of course, it wasn't me who was going through all those changes. My mind is racing with the speed of light. I feel sick. I get up and manage to run into the bathroom where I vomit the content of my stomach. When I'm positive I won't vomit again I get myself up and I wash my face. Somehow I'm able to get myself up to the bedroom. I start undressing myself and walk into the bathroom, I turn on the water in the shower cabin and walk inside allowing the comfortable warmth of the water to envelope me and make me forget what I learned today. I rub my hands over my face to wash away the tears that started to run down my cheeks again. When the water starts to get colder I step outside and put on my robe. I gather my hair in a big towel and walk to the sink. I grab my toothbrush and start cleaning my mouth until I can only taste peppermint on my tongue. I walk out into the bedroom and crawl into bed, disregarding the fact that I'm still in the robe and towel. I start crying again, but don't care. I need to let it out. I'm not ready to be strong just yet.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know is that I smell food. I get up and get rid of the damp towel. I walk into the bathroom and dry my hair. It takes me far too long for my liking and I'm more determined than ever to cut my hair. I let the robe fall to the ground and walk into the bedroom completely naked. I find Tobias sitting on the bed watching me and grinning. He gets up and wraps me in his arms before I can say anything. I'm so glad he's home. I really need him right now to hold me and comfort me. He starts kissing my lips and travels to my neck where he sucks lightly on my pulse point. I feel heat spread through my body and I pull him closer to me. He picks me up in one swift movement and I wrap my legs around his waist. He turns us around and lays me down on the bed covering my naked body with his fully clothed one. He continues his adoration of my body when I remember why I was so upset earlier and practically shove him off of me. He looks at me both startled and hurt. I can't bare seeing that I hurt him when I swore never to do that. Tears fill my eyes and I start crying again. He immediately lies down next to me and pulls me into his arms, stroking my hair.

"Tris, honey, what's wrong? Have I done something?" he asks confused. My sweet Tobias, he thinks he did something wrong, when I'm the one who hurt him. I shake my head but keep crying. "Please, talk to me, I can't stand it seeing you like this. What happened? You were happy when I left this morning" he says and I look up at him. So much has changed since this morning. I try to sit up and he helps me. His eyes are full of love, but also concern. The hurt I saw in them just moments ago is completely gone.

"Tobias, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you when I pushed you away. It's not you, I promise. It's just…" I stop talking not knowing what to say to him. Should I really tell him that I might be pregnant? I mean, I don't know yet.

"Just what, Tris? Please" he pleads.

"Tobias" I start saying looking him in the eyes. We swore always to tell each other everything, no matter what. "There's a chance I might be pregnant" I say and see as his face loses all color. He is as shocked as I was. As I still am. We both remain quiet for a while just staring at each other like this is the first time we've seen the other.

"Pregnant? How?" he asks.

"Remember I had that doctors appointment on Friday to get my shot. A shot is effective between twenty eight and thirty days, but Addison, my doctor, had something scheduled for this Friday and we decided that I should get the shot a week earlier. But then I got sick. The pills I take for the cold might interfere with the main component in the shot rendering it useless."

"We had sex" he says.

"Yeah. Addison thinks it might be nothing, since the pills are not that powerful, but we can't be sure until I take a test."

"Do you need me to get you one from the pharmacy?" he asks, now in full protector mode. I smile at him sadly and cup his face.

"It would be useless. We have to wait at least two weeks for the test result to come back conclusive."

He pulls me into his arms and rubs my back. He rocks us back and forth trying to calm us both down.

"Tris, I love you no matter what" he says. "I know we haven't really discussed this, but whatever you decide I'm behind you one hundred percent. Just tell me what you need and I'll give it to you" he solemnly says. What I need? I need to go back to when children where only in my head. I feel cold and realize I'm still naked.

"I need to get dressed" I say and he reluctantly lets go of me. I get up and go to the dresser where I retrieve fresh underwear and some comfy sweat pants, a tee shirt and a sweater. I put them on and take Tobias's hand in mine. "Thank you" I say looking down at him. "Thank you for being here for me. I love you so much and I have no clue what I would do without you." He gets up and takes me into his arms holding me close to him. I put my ear where his heart is beating and smile. It always relaxes me hearing that sound.

"You hungry?" he asks me after a while.

"A little bit" I answer.

"I made lasagna" he says and I look at him smiling.

We walk downstairs and into the kitchen where Tobias already prepared two plates at the kitchen island. I sit down and Tobias fills my plate and offers me a bottle of water. I didn't even realize it that I was thirsty, because I drink the whole bottle and Tobias chuckles. We eat in near silence, probably both thinking of the same thing. When I'm done I take my plate and store it in the dishwasher. I walk to the couch and sit down, pulling my legs under me. I lean on the couch back and wait for Tobias to join me.

"I felt awful when Addison told me that I might be pregnant. I don't think I'm ready for this. I don't think we are ready for this. But if I am pregnant I will keep the baby" I say firmly.

"I would be surprised to hear you say something else" he says smiling. "I know we are young and this relationship is new, but if there is a baby coming" he says putting his right palm over my flat tummy "then we will make sure he or she will have the best childhood and home we can possibly offer. I don't want my child to feel unloved or unimportant, because that will never be true. I would rather cut my own heart out and I know you would too" he says looking straight into my eyes.

"I know, honey. I just don't know how I will get through these two weeks without losing my mind. I honestly don't know what is worse right now. The thought that I might be pregnant or the not knowing for sure part" I say.

"Would it be that horrible?" he asks and I look at him.

"Having a baby? Your baby?" I ask with a small smile. He nods. "No. I love you now and forever. You know I want kids, just not right now. It's terrifying me. I talked to mom about it" I say and he raises an eyebrow "about my dreams or visions or whatever they are. It just came up. She made me realize that we are too young yet and I want to enjoy this time we have just the two of us to the fullest. I also want to be a good leader and member of the city council. I want to make this faction and by extent this city a better place to live in. For our children. But if we have a baby now it would complicate things. I wouldn't have enough time for my job and my child. And just to be clear I would never put my work before my family, especially not my child" I say and Tobias smiles.

"You are going to be an amazing mom" he says.

"You think?" I ask insecure.

"I'm confident of it. I just hope I will make a decent dad" he says and I'm surprised to hear that.

"Tobias, if this is about Marcus again, than cut the crap. You are nothing like him. If you are half the way you are around me with our kid, than he or she will be the luckiest kid in the city. No - the world. You are a wonderful person and I'm a lucky girl to call you mine. Don't ever think you are not worthy or good enough for me or our child" I say cupping his face.

"I love you so much" he says and kisses me passionately. I have to push him away again.

"I'm sorry. Addison gave me that shot but as long as I take those freaking pills we are at risk. Unless it's already done and I have a little one in the oven" I say and Tobias laughs whole heartily.

"Don't be sorry. Don't ever do anything just for me. You need to want it too."

"Wasn't planning to" I say smiling. "By the way, why are you home?" I ask realizing that he should be at work.

"What do you mean?" he asks confused.

"Shouldn't you be at the Hub with Tori?"

"We were. But the meeting is long over. It's almost six p.m." he says and I look at the clock.

"Son of a mother, I slept all day. Again" I say the last part whining. Tobias chuckles next to me.

"You're healing, sweetheart. It's only natural. Did you take your pills today?"

"No, I forgot this morning and then fell asleep. I'm going to take them now."

"I'll go get them for you" he says and runs up the stairs to bring me my medicine. He's back almost immediately and brings me a glass of water. I take the pills and Tobias sits down next to me on the couch. We cuddle together and just remain silent for a while.

"How was the meeting?" I ask.

"Surprisingly well, but I don't want to do it again. I don't know how you manage it every week" he says.

"Yeah, it needs special powers to survive the council meetings. Although I gather that without Marcus there no one was homicidal."

"Not that I could see. They all send you best wishes by the way and they all missed you. They said and I quote the most boring meeting since the dawn of Tris" he says using a dramatic voice and I laugh.

"Let me guess. Jack?"

"How did you know?" he asks surprised.

"He's the only one who would say crap like that during a council meeting. Of course, other than me."

"They all love you there. They were surprised you didn't come and I had to promise them that I wouldn't take your place with the council."

"Of course they love me. I'm the only one who's fun around there."

"I'm glad you and the council are on good terms. It would have been painful for me to know that they don't treat you well. I don't want to come down there and straighten them out."

"Relax, tiger, I can fight my own battles. It took some time but I soon learned how to behave around them. There's time for business and there's time for fun. The only one who hasn't got a sense of humor is Marcus. Speaking of, do you have some news?"

"Andrew told me they will release him on Thursday, but I don't want to be there."

"That's okay, baby. I don't want to pry but did you have any contact with your mom recently?"

"Why?"

"Just asking. You haven't said anything since that night" I say.

"I haven't heard from her since. I told her that if she wanted a relationship with me she needed to accept you" he says firmly not looking at me.

"Do you want her to like me? I mean do you want her near you?" I ask cautiously.

"Huh" he sighs "I would lie if I would say I hate her like I hate Marcus, but I love you more than anything and anyone in the world. Ever since we met you were always there for me no matter what. I can't imagine my life without you. I would die for you and I know you would die for me."

"Damn right. But that doesn't answer my question. Do you want her near you?"

"I would love to have a relationship with my mom, but not if she keeps offending you" he says looking straight into my eyes.

"Let's wait for a little while longer. If she doesn't contact you invite her over here for supper or lunch sometime. No one has to know but us. Tell her that you want her to meet me and get to know me before she passes judgment" I say and he looks surprised.

"How can you even suggest that?" he asks incredulous.

"Why?"

"You were there when she kept on offending you. She knew that I love you but she kept saying hurtful things about you."

"It doesn't matter. In her mind you are still her little boy and she can't see that you grew up not needing her. At least not the way she wants or hopes."

"I'm not her anything" he says louder and angry.

"Yes, you are Tobias. You are her son. And while I don't understand and forgive her for leaving you, she's still your mother. Give her a chance to redeem herself. Of course, if you want that. As far as I'm concerned as long as you are happy I can handle her." He remains quiet for a time thinking of what I said.

"You are an incredible woman, Beatrice Prior." I smile at him. "If I do this you have to swear to me that if she keeps offending you, especially behind my back, you will tell me."

"Tobias, I can handle it" I try to say but he shakes his head.

"Promise me or I won't even consider it" he firmly says.

"Alright, I promise" I say in defeat.

"Remember, we swore never to lie to each other. I don't want you to keep it from me if Evelyn offends you. She's not worth it that you lie for her."

"I promise I won't. But give it some time. She won't come around that easily."

"I don't care. If she offends you she's out."

"Tobias, please. You can't expect her to welcome me with open arms after just one meeting. And before you protest again, if you decide to invite her over let us see how things go during that evening and we'll discuss it further from there. Deal?"

"Alright. Deal. Have I ever told you that you are simply too good?"

"Come to think of it, no you haven't" I say with a chuckle. He leans forward and kisses me softly. When he pulls back we both groan. "I'm not sure I can keep my hands off of you" I say.

"My thoughts exactly. We could always use condoms" he suggests.

"Do you have any? Cause I don't" I say. He shakes his head.

"But I could get some" he looks hopeful and I laugh a little. "What's so funny?"

"I don't know who's more anxious to make love. Me or you." He laughs and gets up kissing my forehead.

"I'll be right back" he says and leaves the apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Is she or is she not pregnant? That is here the question.


	34. Chapter 34

34

I'm waiting in the examination room in the infirmary for Dr. Morris to come and check me out. I hope I'm healthy again because I sure can't take it any longer. The door to the room opens and Dr. Morris comes in.

"Hello, Tris. How are you today?" he asks smiling.

"A lot better, actually. I haven't sneezed or coughed since yesterday and my temperature is in normal range since Monday evening" I tell him.

"That's great. Let me take a vial of blood to test it before we proceed to the physical exam. By the way, did you bring the urine sample as I asked?"

"Yes. I gave it to the nurse who sits at the front desk."

"Wonderful. It's probably in the lab already" he says and proceeds to take some blood. I should be used to needles by now but they are still unsettling. I close my eyes and when I open them again the doctor gives the vial with blood to the nurse who came in while I pretended not to be here. When she leaves Dr. Morris starts examining me. He checks twice to make sure and I'm a little nervous because of it.

"So, am I okay?" I ask.

"I still have to wait for the test results on your urine and blood samples, but as far as I can tell you are healthy again" he says smiling. I jump of the examination table and hug him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you" I say cheerful.

"Don't thank me" the doctor says laughing. "You followed the instructions and took your pills and rested enough. You helped yourself to heal. We still need the test results from the lab, but I'm confident they will corroborate my findings. I will have the results by the end of the day" he says.

"Thank you so much again, doctor."

"You're welcome. I'll call you when I get the results, alright?"

"That'll be great, thank you."

"Goodbye and take it easy for a while."

"Don't worry. I hate being sick. I will do everything to avoid it as much as possible" I say and leave the infirmary.

I decide to go to my office and call Christina and Shauna to me. Although I was still forced to spend the last couple of days at home the girls came by to discuss the upcoming Halloween party and their plans for the Haunted House.

"Hey Tris" Shauna says coming in.

"Hey Shauna. Where's Christina?" I ask looking for my best friend.

"She went to the bathroom. She'll be here in a minute. Halloween party?" she asks and I nod.

"But before we start, how are you two?" I ask and she smiles brightly.

"I had my first craving yesterday" she says proudly.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I ate fish with chocolate ice cream" she says beaming.

"Ugh, sounds disgusting" I say making a disgusted face.

"It is, but I swear it was the most delicious thing I've ever eaten."

"Alright. You are the mama. Did you go to the hospital for a check-up?" I ask.

"I have an appointment next Monday. Addison will tell me what to do and what don't and give me some information on the baby's progress. When I last went, when she told me I was pregnant, she said I should be six or seven weeks pregnant. She will make an ultrasound on Monday and we will know more."

"So Zeke's going with you?"

"Yeah. He's so happy I'm really surprised he can keep his big mouth shut. If it were up to him he would have announced it over the internal intercom" she says and we laugh.

"I'm happy for you two" I say.

"How about you guys? How are you holding up?" she asks. Since Monday noon when Addison told me I might be pregnant Shauna and I never got the chance to talk about it.

"We need to wait to take a test, but I swear it's more difficult every day" I say.

"I can't imagine what you guys are going through. But if you are, you know, what then?" she asks.

"Four and I discussed it and we both agree that if I'm indeed pregnant we will keep the baby" I answer.

"You're pregnant?" Christina asks from the door. I look at her shocked. I haven't even noticed her coming in.

"Uhm…" I say unable to form words.

"Chris, come in and close the door. That's classified information" Shauna says getting up. Christina walks in and sits on the couch looking at me stunned.

"You are pregnant?" she asks again.

"I don't know" I answer in a low voice.

"How can you not know?" she asks incredulous.

"Would you calm down" Shauna says a little pissed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Christina asks me.

"Tell you what? I don't even know" I say a little angry.

"I thought we were friends" she accuses.

"Of course we are friends" I say.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" she asks.

"Oh shut up, drama queen" Shauna says and we both look at her. "Just tell her" she says to me.

"I don't know if I'm pregnant or not. I went to the infirmary on Monday to get checked out, when I saw my OBGYN there. We started talking and I mentioned that I have the flu. She asked me if I had sex while I took the flu medicine and unfortunately I did. She told me there's a chance that the flu medicine interfered with the main component in the birth control shot but I would have to wait two weeks to take a pregnancy test to know for sure. I wouldn't have told even Shauna but it so happened that she was with me. And I didn't want to tell anyone. It's personal and I'm scared and I just don't want to talk about it. Is that so hard to understand?" I ask and start crying.

"Great!" Shauna says sarcastically, although she meant it for Christina.

"I'm sorry, Tris. I didn't mean to…" she starts but gets interrupted.

"Yeah, you did. You always have to know everything. God forbid one of us doesn't tell the all-knowing Christina something."

"Hey, that's not fair" Christina defends.

"Really? Just look at what you did?" Shauna points at me.

"Shauna, stop" I say. "You too, Christina. You have to understand that there are things I can't just share we you guys. I love you both, you are my best friends, more like sisters, but there are things that are just too personal. And I didn't lie to you, Christina. If I could have avoided Shauna hearing that I might be pregnant I would've. Besides I don't even know if I am or not. If I am I would have told you two first. After Four of course."

"I'm sorry, Tris, that I overreacted like that. It's just lately we haven't spent time together and I thought you tried to avoid me" Christina says bashful.

"I'm not trying to avoid you, I just don't have that much time. There's a lot of work to do around here. But I promise you that I will try to be a better friend. To all of you. But you all need to understand my situation as well. I'm a leader and Dauntless business will take precedent before anything else."

"Don't worry, Tris. We understand. Don't we?" Shauna asks Christina.

"Yes" she says shyly.

"Okay. Enough with the guilt trip around here. Let's talk party" I say trying to lighten the mood.

We spend the next two hours setting up the plan for the Haunted House. Lynn offered to put a team of volunteers together to decorate the compound, while Marlene helps Ms. Stone with the food and drinks. When it's close to lunch I call Tobias to see if he's still in his office and he tells me he's in a meeting with my dad. I hang up quickly. That's odd. Why would he be here? I say goodbye to the girls, lock my office and walk toward Tobias's. I knock on the door and when he tells me to come in I open the door to find both him and my dad sitting on the couch.

"Tris? What are you doing here?" he asks jumping up in surprise.

"Beatrice, you should be home resting" my dad says concerned.

"Guys, please, I'm fine" I say. Before I can tell them that the doctor cleared me Tobias takes two huge steps toward me, picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. He walks out of his office followed closely by my dad, locks the door and practically runs toward and up the stairs to our apartment. When we are inside he puts me back down and I glare at him.

"That was humiliating, Tobias Eaton, pray to God that no one saw that" I say angry.

"Are you kidding me?" he asks just as angry.

"Kids, please, don't fight" my dad tries to calm us, but once we warm up we explode, one way or another.

"Why did you leave the apartment? You know you are sick."

"To get checked up by Dr. Morris, genius" I say sarcastically. "If you would have listened to me and believed that I'm fine I would have told you that the doctor cleared me. I'm healthy again. But no, you have to be a caveman and pick me up like a sack of flour and carry me around like I'm a freaking invalid" I yell.

"The doctor said that?" he asks incredulous.

"The I'm healthy again part or the caveman part, cause the latter, believe me, is all mine" I say angry. Before I can say anything further Tobias hugs me tightly that I stop breathing for a minute. I have to push him away and take deep breaths to fill my lungs with much needed air again. "Remind me to give you good news over the phone from now on" I say and he laughs.

"I'm sorry" he says.

"No, you're not. If the doctor wouldn't have given me the all clear you would have raged around here. I know you."

"Tris, we had this discussion plenty of times."

"You're right. The doctor still waits for the lab results, but he's confident I'm fine. So relax" I say and kiss his cheek. I walk toward my dad and hug him. "Hey dad."

"Hello Beatrice. I'm glad to hear you are healthy again."

"Yeah, me too. I've been waiting for these news for far too long" I say and he chuckles. "What are you doing here anyway?" I ask him and he looks nervous toward Tobias. "What? Did I miss something?"

"I needed a report and came to get it" my dad says.

"Really?" I ask incredulous.

"Yes, but we started talking and forgot the time" he adds.

"Talking about what?" I inquire further.

"Men problems" he quickly answers.

"Alright. I'm going to pretend that I accept that answer and not ask further since I'm not sure I like where this is going" I say and they both look surprised at me. "What? You clearly have a secret. I'm not stupid. How's mom?"

"She's fine. She will be pleased to hear that you feel better" he says.

"I would like you two to come for lunch on Saturday" I say.

"We can't. We have your brother and his girlfriend over" my dad says.

"Too bad" Tobias says.

"Wait. Stop. Rewind. Caleb has a girlfriend? Since when? Who is she? Why didn't anyone tell me?" I ask.

"Alright. Let's start from the beginning. Yes, your brother found someone. Her name is Cara Hamilton, they are colleagues. And as to why no one told you, I don't know" my dad explains. "I have an idea. Why don't you and Tobias join us?" he asks.

"We don't want to impose" Tobias says.

"Hang on there" I say raising my hand to him and look at my father. "I want to have a family lunch. How about we do this here? It's much bigger and mom won't have to cook. Or at least I can help her" I suggest.

"Your mother wants to do it at home and I think if you would come it would be like the old days" my dad says smiling.

"I'm sorry, dad, but Tobias and I won't come" I say and both men look at me in surprise.

"Why not?"

"Because of Marcus" I say.

"He won't know" my dad tries to convince me.

"No. I don't want to put Tobias in a situation where he might see him" I say.

"You know I'm still here" Tobias says.

"I know, I'm not blind" I sharply say.

"I think you are exaggerating, Beatrice" my dad takes a scolding tone.

"Am I?"

"Tris, it's okay. I'm going to have to face Marcus sometime" Tobias says.

"Yeah, sometime. Not now. I don't want you to be reminded of the worst time in your life."

"I'm fine, Tris, I promise. He probably won't even leave his house. And I don't want to give him more power than he already had over me" Tobias says firmly.

"Alright. Okay, dad, could you call mom and ask her if she would mind having Tobias and me over for lunch on Saturday" I ask him.

"I'm sure she wouldn't…" he starts saying but I glare at him. He backs away a bit and pulls out his phone. He dials the number and talks to mom.

"You are really scary sometimes" Tobias says with a chuckle.

"I hate it when the men in my life treat me like a five-year-old."

"That's because sometimes you act like one" Tobias says trying to be amusing. It doesn't work.

"Keep it up mister and you can say goodbye to sex tonight" I whisper in his ear. He raises an eyebrow and leans forward to reply.

"I am not the one who couldn't get enough last night" he says with a stupid grin on his face, making me blush.

"Idiot" I say and he laughs lightly.

"Your mom can't wait to have you all on Saturday" my dad says pulling Tobias and me out of our own little world.

"That's great. I'll try to bring a Dauntless cake. I can't make any promises though" I say.

"It's alright. I won't tell your mother about it, so she doesn't get her hopes up" my dad says.

"Have you guys had lunch yet?" I ask.

"No" Tobias answers. "Andrew would you like to join us?" he asks.

"Thank you, but I have to decline. I need to get back to Abnegation and take care of a few things. But we'll see each other on Saturday. It's good to know you're well again, sweetheart" my dad says kissing my forehead.

"Yeah, I'm glad too" I say. We say goodbye to my father and I walk into our kitchen to warm up last night's leftovers. Tobias sets two plates on the kitchen island and we dig in. "So, what were you and dad conspiring?" I ask after I take a bite of my food.

"Huh? We don't conspire" Tobias says vaguely, never taking his eyes off of his plate.

"Come on. I'm neither blind nor stupid. Besides didn't we agree no secrets" I say hoping to get something out of him.

"Nice try" he says looking at me.

"What?" I ask innocently.

"You know. Besides there is no secret. You imagine things" he says.

"Yeah, right. Alright don't tell me. I don't even want to know" I say offended. I return to my meal and keep quiet for the rest of lunch. Tobias gets our plates and cleans them in the sink. I dry them and put them away. It's amazing how well we work together, no matter the task or situation. I smile a little.

"What's so amusing?" he asks noticing my silly grin.

"Us. I just thought how well we work together no matter the situation" I answer.

"You are right. It's really easy, don't you think?" I nod. He looks at me smirking and I have no idea why.

"What?"

"You're dying to know, aren't you?" he asks amused.

"Know what?" I ask a little confused.

"The secret between your dad and me" he says cocky.

"Huh. I knew it. There is a secret" I say loudly.

"But you can't know" he says.

"Why not?" I inquire.

"Because it's secret" he answers.

"Then why tell me in the first place?" I ask accusing.

"To tease you" he says with a smirk.

"Ugh, you are a real pain in the butt sometimes. You know that, Tobias?" I ask crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"But I'm your pain and you love me" he says pulling me in his arms resting his chin on my head.

"Damn straight you are" I say unfolding my arms and encircling his torso.

"I love you" he says kissing the top of my head.

"I love you too." We remain like this for a few more minutes before I remember it's a work day. "Do you have to go back to work?" I ask. He sighs loudly.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"I'll come too."

"You should still rest" he says a little concerned.

"I won't over do it. Do you have meetings?" I ask.

"No. Why?"

"I could stay in your office. I want to go through some files and don't want to carry them from your office to mine and back when I'm done. And on the plus side you can keep an eye on me" I say knowing he would like that. Damn, if he could he would watch me 24/7. It's annoying sometimes, but I understand his need to know me safe. It's the same need I feel when it comes to him.

"That would be wonderful" he says smiling brightly.

We walk back down to his office and while Tobias takes his seat behind his desk I go over to the personnel files cabinet and withdraw a few files. I sit on the couch and start looking through each file, taking notes every once in a while.

"What are you doing?" Tobias asks curiously after a while.

"Reading personnel files" I answer not looking up.

"Why?" he inquires further.

"It's on my list" I answer still looking down on the file in my lap.

"What list?" I sigh loudly and finally look at him. He gets up from his chair and walks over to the couch where he sits down next to me. He picks up the file in my lap and reads the name on it. Abbot James.

"Who's James Abbot?" he asks looking at me suspiciously.

"No idea. That's why I read his file" I answer taking the file back.

"Okay, you need to be more informative. What are you doing with this file?"

"Alright. We are leaders." He nods. "You had two years to get to know the people here, I didn't."

"I don't know them either."

"I know, you are not the most sociable person I know. My point is I want to get to know them. At least know of their existence. I also want to check out former members."

"Why?" he asks genuinely curious.

"I was thinking about what you said to me, about how the former leaders asked people to leave the faction because they became too old. I also want to know why someone was made factionless other than the age issue. I think we should revise those cases, but without making a fuss just yet" I explain.

"You want to bring former members back?"

"Yes. If they were asked to leave just because of their age or maybe another reason. That's why I need to know their files. It's a long laborious process, but I believe it's the right thing to do."

"Let's say we do this, because I get your point and agree somewhat. Could we do it?" he asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Are we allowed to do it I mean."

"We are the Dauntless leaders. We are the only ones who can decide this."

"What about the council?" he asks.

"This is a pure faction matter. As long as we talk about ex-Dauntless and that means only ex-members not dependents than we can consider taking them back. People who are factionless because they couldn't make it through the initiation process of a faction are a different matter. But I want to address that too, at least in the future."

"Interesting. I never knew you gave this matter so much thought" he says surprised and proud at the same time.

"If we want to be better leaders than we need to make right decisions. Of course we might make some mistakes and step on a few toes but we can always revise them later."

"Can I help you?" he asks.

"Don't you have some stuff to do?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"I do actually. But I want to help."

"You can and will. I won't finish this today. It will take months to go through all the files, the current members alone. It will take even longer to look over the former members and then the dependents that left the faction. But it's on my list."

"Would you mind telling me of what list you are talking about?"

"A list of things I want to do as a leader and council member. I held back up until now because we were still adjusting to this new situation and had our heads wrapped around other things. But now that we are settling in we can actually look to solve problems. Maybe if Tori accepts our offer to become the third leader she might help us."

"She hasn't told me yet if she made up her mind. It's still early though to make a decision just yet. But it looks promising" he tells me.

"After all you told me she seems to be the best fit for the job."

"Yeah. I really hope she says yes."

"Me too. Now go back and lead" I say pointing toward his desk.

"Yes ma'am" he answers with a salute. We both laugh but resume our work. We spent the remainder of our time working, only looking and talking to each other every once in a while. When Tobias's stomach growls loudly I look up and chuckle.

"Seems like someone is hungry" I say.

"Yeah. Wanna wrap this up and head down to the cafeteria?" he asks.

"Tobias Eaton, you simply have the best ideas when you're hungry" I say laughing lightly and he joins in. He helps me put the files I was looking at back into the cabinet, he locks the door and we go downstairs to join our friends for a typical Dauntless supper.

"Hey guys" Tobias says to our group of friends. He lets me slide in first then sits right next to me on the cafeteria bench.

"Hey" the others greet.

"How are you feeling, Tris?" Marlene asks me.

"I'm better, thanks for asking. Dr. Morris told me I'm good again" I tell her.

"That's great. It was boring without you around here" Uriah says.

"Only without her?" Tobias acts offended.

"No offense, dude. But she's fun. You're just scary" Uriah says and we all laugh.

"Well, he wouldn't be Four if he wasn't" Zeke says and even Tobias laughs whole heartily.

"How's the party coming?" Will asks.

"Great. Thanks to my wonderful girlfriends here" I start saying and smile at each one of the girls "the party will be a hit. Which reminds me, can you guys stop by my office Monday morning after breakfast to go through some things?"

"Sure" Lynn says.

"I can't stay long. I have ambassador duties coming up" Christina says.

"Me too" Shauna adds.

"I will have to check my schedule at the infirmary" Marlene says.

"If you have any kind of difficulties tell me so that I can speak with your bosses. It won't take long and I need to go over the final details with you, as well as with Ms. Stone, Ms. Aubrey and Mr. Walsh."

"Alright, we'll let you know" Marlene agrees.

"There any chance you fine ladies might tell us what you're up to?" Zeke asks.

"Not a chance in hell" Shauna says and we burst out laughing, startling the boys.

"Was it something I said?" Zeke asks confused.

"Eat your food" Shauna directs and he obliges, but not before kissing her sweetly on the lips.

"Dude, gross. I'm eating" Uriah says making a disgusted face.

"Shut up" both Shauna and Zeke say at the same time.

"I think it's romantic" Marlene says staring at the two love birds.

"I bet we look much cuter than these two" Uriah says nodding toward his brother and his girlfriend.

"Not as cute as Christina and I" Will says jumping in.

"Guys, please" Tobias starts and we all look at him. "If any couple is the cutest here than it sure is Tris and me" he says surprising us all. I smile at him and kiss him on the mouth.

"You are just saying that because you are leaders and we aren't" Uriah says.

"No, I'm saying it because it's the truth" Tobias retorts.

"Oh for God's sake" Lynn says exasperatedly. "Just take them out and put them on the table."

"Take what out?" Uriah asks confused.

"Lynn" all the girls including me yell at her.

"Come on, like you didn't think that too. I just had the guts to say it out loud" she defends.

"Take what out?" Uriah asks again. Will chuckles and Tobias looks a little pale. I never thought he would get embarrassed like this.

"Damn, you're stupid" Zeke says to his brother and Shauna elbows him.

"Hey" Uriah yells back. Marlene leans in and whispers something in his ear, making them both blush. It seems he finally got it.

We finish our meal and everyone heads back home. We say goodbye and Tobias grabs my hand kissing the back of it before we start ascending the stairs to our apartment.


	35. Chapter 35

35

"Tris" Tobias shouts through the apartment.

"I'm coming" I shout back.

"We're going to be late" he yells again.

"Stop yelling" I say climbing down the stairs.

"Wow. You look beautiful" he says and I blush.

I decided to wear one of my new outfits I bought on Monday when I was shopping with Shauna. I'm wearing a simple black wool knitted dress and knee high black leather boots. Nothing special really. The only real change is my hair. I finally managed to cut it yesterday. It's a little over my ears and it's called a bob. Christina took me to the Dauntless beauty parlor where she insisted to get us a mani-pedi to have enough time to gossip around. Since I got sick and we found out about Shauna's pregnancy our weekly work out schedule got messed up. Not to mention my potential pregnancy. The sole thought makes me shudder. Tobias and I had sex a few times since Monday, but we always used condoms. Better safe than sorry. Assuming I'm not already knocked up. But I have to admit the rubber thing is just strange. It's just not the same. It's almost clinical. Don't get me wrong, we both enjoy ourselves, it's just not like it used to be. I honestly can't wait for my appointment with Addison to finally learn if I am pregnant or not. Either way we can get rid of those freaking balloons.

"Thank you, you're sweet" I say kissing his cheek when I reach him. "Did you get the cake?"

"It's in the box on the kitchen island. Do you have everything?" he asks never taking his eyes off of me.

"Yes, I think so. Got my phone, got my keys, my handsome boyfriend" I count down on my fingers and he laughs. "How about you?"

"Let me see. Got my phone, my keys, my gorgeous girlfriend" he says copying me. He kisses my forehead and goes to the kitchen to get the cake. "And now I've got the cake" he says when he joins me at the entrance door. We walk out and I lock the door behind us. We walk hand in hand to the garage to get the car and drive to Abnegation. Since he's driving I'm holding the box with the delicious treat in my lap.

"Can't wait to see my brother again. I haven't seen him since I went to visit him during my initiation" I say.

"I can't wait to meet him" Tobias says and I smile warmly at him.

"Nervous?" I ask and he glances my way.

"About?" he asks.

"You know."

"If you are referring to Marcus then no."

"Really?" I ask incredulous.

"Really. I'm not saying I'm completely okay with being back in Abnegation, but I'm stronger than I was. He holds no power over me. He's not even in my fear landscape anymore" he says and surprises me.

"What? You went through your fear landscape? When?" I ask.

"On Tuesday. I'm not going to lie to you. I'm as much freaked out about the pregnancy as you are. But I mean what I said. If there is a child on its way I will do everything in my power to give my kid the best there is. Including a good father."

"I'm sure you will be a great father, Tobias" I say lacing our fingers together.

"I will certainly do my best. I don't know if I could do it without you" he says glancing at me before returning his gaze to the road ahead of us.

"You won't have to find out. I love you more than anything in the world. Only death could keep me away from you" I say and he stops abruptly making me almost drop the cake.

"Don't ever say that again" he demands. I look at him confused and maybe a little scared. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay, but I don't understand…"

"Don't talk about death, especially yours" he says.

"I won't live forever" I say and he stares at me. It's a good thing we are near Abnegation. There's almost no traffic around here.

"Marcus's absence from my fear landscape is not the only change" he says and makes me curious. "There's still my fear of heights and confinement, but instead of having to kill an innocent I lose you one way or another. And my forth fear is, as I said, no longer Marcus, but me being a bad father, like he was."

"Honey, believe me, you are nothing like him. I wish I could make you see that. Although, I think I can" I say with a small smile.

"How?" he asks incredulous.

"One day we will be parents, whether it's soon or later is another matter. But you will see every day of our lives that you are nothing like him. And if you don't believe that watch this" I say and grab his hand in mine. I close my eyes and concentrate on my memory of him and me in our bedroom with our baby boy between us. I let him watch the memory of my dream or vision to show him how our life will be like. When I let go of his hand I open my eyes and look into his startled ones.

"How did you do that?" he asks amazed.

"Remember when I woke up and frantically looked around the house for our son?" He nods. "It was after I saw this. It felt so real that waking up and not having him there seemed unreal. Tell me, did it feel real to you?" I ask him.

"Yes. I could feel his warmth and I could smell his scent. He smelled of milk and cookie dough" he says choked up. "But he isn't real" Tobias says a little sad.

"I know. At least not yet. But you felt and heard what we all said in that dream. Can you imagine our lives that way? Can you imagine loving your child the way you did in my dream?" Tobias thinks for a moment before he answers.

"Yes." He leans back into his seat staring out the windshield. We remain quiet for a while before he speaks again. "I understand why you wanted to go back. I wish we had him already" he says and I smile at him. Maybe getting pregnant is the next thing we should do. If I'm not already. "I could feel that I love him and I felt so happy having you both in my arms" he says and a single tear runs down his handsome face. I lean over and wipe it away with my thumb before cupping his face in my hand. He leans into my touch and we stare at each other.

"Let us take one step at the time. I'm confident we will be the best parents we can be. Besides there's no real manual on how to raise your children" I say and he chuckles.

"You are right. We just need to do our best to give our children everything they need and want" he says.

"And love them like there's no tomorrow" I add.

"I don't know them yet but I already love them" he says. He kisses me softly before pulling back. "We need to get going. Your parents probably wait for us already" he says and starts the car again. We drive the rest of the way in complete silence.

We arrive in front of my parents house and park the car. I want to get out but Tobias jumps out of the car and runs to my side opening the door. He takes the cake off of me and stretches out his hand to help me out.

"What was that all about?" I ask amused.

"What? I'm a gentleman" he says grinning.

"Yes, you are" I say and kiss him gently on the lips. He closes the door and locks the car and we walk hand in hand the small stone path up to my old houses front door. We knock twice before my dad opens the door smiling.

"Beatrice, Four, welcome" he says using Tobias's nickname. No need for others to hear that Tobias Eaton has returned to Abnegation. "Please, come in" he says and we enter the house.

"Hello dad" I say kissing his cheek.

"Hello Andrew. Thank you for having us" Tobias politely says.

"No need to thank me. You are family. You can drop by whenever you want, son" he says and Tobias smiles brightly. I've noticed he always does that when my dad calls him son. I'm so happy about that.

"Where's mom?" I ask looking around the living room. "Is she in the kitchen?"

"No, she's upstairs changing. She'll be right down. Here, let me help you with your coats" my dad says and we hand him our coats, which he stores in the closet. "Can I offer you something to drink?" my dad asks.

"Some tea would be nice" Tobias says.

"I'll make it" I say.

"Beatrice, you are a guest now" my dad says trying to stop me.

"Didn't you say, not five minutes ago, that we are family and can drop by whenever we want? The family part implying we aren't guests and can in fact make our own tea?" I ask. They both look at me curiously.

"Sometimes I forget to whom I talk to" my dad says with a chuckle. "Go ahead, you know where everything is" he says. I walk into the kitchen and get the tea pot out of one of the lower cabinets and fill it with water. I turn on the stove and set the pot on it letting it heat up the water. I then go and retrieve several metal boxes with different sorts of tea and inhale their mesmerizing scent.

"You always used to do that when you where little" my mom says startling me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" she says apologetically.

"It's okay. I didn't expect you, that's all. Hi mom" I say and walk over to hug her.

"Hello, my sweet girl. Wow, I like your hair. It's so Dauntless" she says smiling at me.

"You think? I wanted something different" I tell her.

"I love it. So, what are we going to drink?" she asks.

"How about some strawberry tea? I hadn't had that in a while" I say.

"Sounds great" she says. "Would you mind helping me with what is left to do before your brother and his girlfriend arrive?"

"Not at all. By the way, is it okay if I come here next week after lunch to learn those recipes we talked about?" I ask.

"Of course. Just tell me when it's best for you and we can do this. But please tell me a few hours ahead so that I can shop for all the ingredients" she says.

"I can do that. I can bring everything we need, you don't have to buy anything" I say.

"Please, it's fine, Beatrice. Could you bring me the cake recipe when you come next time?"

"Sure. Which reminds me, we brought some for dessert."

"How wonderful" she says beaming.

I help mom finish our lunch when I hear a knock on the front door. I tell mom that she should go greet Caleb and his girlfriend while I finish here. She wants to protest at first, but I leave her no room for arguing. She thanks me and kisses me on the cheek before leaving the kitchen to greet the new arrivals. I hear voices coming from the living room, my dad asking my mom where I am and my mom telling everyone that I'm finishing lunch. My brother is surprised to learn that I'm here also. Dad introduces Tobias as Four and I hear a female voice say "I know you". That caught my attention. I quickly finish in the kitchen and join the rest in the living room.

"Oh, Beatrice, come here sweetheart and meet Cara, Caleb's girlfriend" my mom says.

"Hello Beatrice, I'm Cara Hamilton" she says friendly.

"It's just Tris" I say.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Caleb kept calling you Beatrice and that's why I called you that. Nice to meet you, by the way" she politely says. She looks very familiar to me, but I can't place her.

"It's okay. It's Tris since I joined Dauntless in the summer" I explain. "Nice to meet you too." I look toward my brother who looks like he has seen a ghost. "Hello, Caleb" I say and pull him out of his thoughts.

"Beatrice, I mean Tris, you look so different" he says surprised.

"Well, you know. I had so many changes going on in my life that I thought what's one more?" I ask and smile at them. "Caleb, this is Four, my boyfriend" I say.

"Nice to meet you, Caleb" Tobias says stretching out his hand.

"Your boyfriend?" my brother asks incredulous.

"Yeah. What's so hard to grasp?" I ask a little annoyed.

"It's okay, Tris" Tobias says.

"I'm sorry. It is my fault. With all the things going on I never got the chance to tell you this, Caleb" my dad says apologetically.

"You didn't think it was worthwhile mentioning, dad?" he asks annoyed. "My baby-sister is too young to…" he starts.

"Too young for what?" I interrupt.

"Beatrice, it isn't polite to interrupt someone else's conversation" Caleb scolds me the way he did when we were younger.

"Oh shut up. First of all, you are not polite. Both I and my boyfriend are in this room and can hear your argument" I start and he opens his mouth to say something. "Second, what I do with my life is none of your god damn business" I say louder and both my parents say loud enough for me to hear, but not too loud to yell "Language". "Third, you have a girlfriend and you are only one year older than I am."

"Dauntless really changed you" he says with a sigh.

"Shut up. I was always like this. You were either too stupid or too blind to see that" I say crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"I don't believe he is stupid. He's Erudite after all" Cara says.

"That's not a guarantee he isn't" I spit.

"Tris, calm down. It's not that big a deal" Tobias tries to calm me.

"He's a jerk" I say.

"I'm just looking out for you" Caleb says all defensive.

"Really? Since we last saw each other you never once called me" I say. "If you were so concerned why didn't you just call to check on me?" I ask.

"I wasn't allowed to" he defends.

"Really? I bet if I asked Sam she would say it would have been okay to call your sister. At least once" I yell at him. "So much for brotherly love."

"Sam?" he asks confused.

"Yeah, Samantha Daniels, you dumb-ass" I say.

"Language" both my parents say.

"You know one of our leaders?" Cara asks.

"Of course I do. I see her every week at the city council meetings" I say.

"Are you an ambassador?" Cara asks.

"No, she's a leader" Tobias says proudly.

"What?" both Cara and Caleb say at the same time.

"I guess you forgot something else to tell me" Caleb says accusing toward my father. My dad just looks sheepish.

"I'm sorry. We only spoke twice since you left in the summer and I didn't know how to say it. Besides I thought you knew. It's not really a secret what she did for the city" my dad says and I look toward my brother and his girlfriend. They both seem to connect the dots.

"Hang on. You are Tris. The Dauntless Tris who stopped the attack on Abnegation" Cara says amazed.

"You did that?" Caleb asks incredulous.

"Yeah, she did" my dad says proudly.

"I didn't know. I didn't even know that you used another name" Caleb says in a low voice.

"Anything else you would like to know or do you want to continue treat me like a little girl. Cause newsflash I'm not. This is me, Tris and this is Four, my boyfriend. And we are Dauntless leaders. Any more questions?" I ask pissed. Caleb shakes his head no.

"Beatrice, honey, could you help me in the kitchen a little bit" my mom asks and I look at her. I nod and follow her. I can hear my dad ask Cara if she wants tea and both she and Caleb say yes. He comes shortly after mom and me into the kitchen to get the pot with hot water as well as cups and the strawberry tea I put out. He quickly leaves the kitchen since he knows mom wants to talk to me in private.

"What was that?" she asks when dad is out of the kitchen and door is closed.

"He started it" I say like a little child. She crosses her arms in front of her chest and I look down to my feet. "I'm sorry, mom."

"You don't need to apologize to me. You need to apologize to Cara, since she is our guest. To your brother, because he was only concerned. And to Tobias, because he is more than capable of defending himself" my mom scolds.

"I know, mom. It's just bugging me that he offended Tobias without even knowing him" I say.

"Did he really?" she asks. "He merely was surprised that his younger sister, whom he always protected, suddenly appears on the arm of a man. Tobias may be many things, but he is not a boy. He is mature beyond his years and that's due to his father, unfortunately. Caleb doesn't know him the way we do. Don't blame your brother for looking out for you. Imagine that one day your daughter comes home with a guy who's clearly older than she is and she introduces him to you and Tobias as her boyfriend." I smile at what she says. "What's so amusing?" she asks confused by my reaction.

"You said mine and Tobias's daughter" I say smiling like a goofball.

"Well, one day you two might have a girl" she says.

"It's not the girl part. It's the fact that you approve of us, mom" I say a little choked up.

"Honey, we love you and we came to love Tobias. He is such a sweet, kind, good young man. I'm happy that you two are together. And yes I hope he will be my son-in-law. But even if he wouldn't become that, I still love him like a son" my mom says.

"I'm one hundred percent sure that we will get married. I love him like no one before. I know that we are young, but we just belong to each other. So much has happened and I wish I could tell you all. But know this, mom. I can talk to Tobias" I say in a lower voice.

"That's good" my mom says smiling.

"No, you misunderstood me. I meant we can talk the way you and I can without using words" I say and she finally understands. Her eyes widen in shock.

"How?" she asks.

"I'm not really sure. The only thing I can come up with is that we have a very strong connection. And to be honest, mom, I think it's stronger than ours. I managed to create a connection to him without trying. I had a nightmare and I called him. I couldn't escape the nightmare and he woke me up talking to me in my dream" I say the last part in a whisper.

"That's amazing." Mom remains quiet for a while thinking of what I said. "Maybe he's like you" she suggests and I shake my head no.

"He never did it before, so it has to be me and our connection. This has to mean something" I say.

"I think you are right. I'm happy that you and Tobias talk about these things. I mean really talk" she says and we both laugh. A knock on the door makes us stop and we turn our heads toward the door where Tobias currently stands. "Come in, honey" my mom beckons. "I'm so glad you could come today" she says hugging him and he hugs her back.

"Thank you for having us" he says smiling.

"Always. You are like a son to me and Andrew. You can come whenever you want. Even without Beatrice" she says jokingly.

"Hey" I act offended and Tobias kisses my temple.

"Nah, I'm not going anywhere without my sunshine" he says.

"Aw, that's so sweet. You two are just two cute" my mom says.

"That's what I said, remember?" he asks looking at me and I recall the argument with our friends about who the cutest couple in our group is and I chuckle.

"Yes, we are" I say and kiss his cheek. "Honey, I told mom about our chatter. You know the special one" I say and he nods.

"Good. What's your opinion on that, Natalie?" he asks.

"Well, I'm not sure. Everything we know about you know what we gained in time and through many experiences. But Beatrice made a convincing case. You two seem so in sync sometimes that you almost seem like two parts of a whole. Just like it's supposed to be."

"I think so too" Tobias says smiling.

"Maybe we should return to the others, before the poor girl thinks I made you scrub the floor as punishment" my mom says and we laugh.

"Tobias, I'm sorry for flipping out" I say looking bashfully into his beautiful dark-blue eyes. Damn, I could get lost in them.

"It's okay, sweetheart. It's sweet that you jumped to your brother's throat to defend me" he says.

"Not to ruin the moment, but she jumped before for less" Caleb says coming in.

"Not true" I say.

"Yes true" he says back.

"Not."

"Yes."

"Not."

"Yes."

"Stop it both or I will send you to your rooms with no lunch" my mom scolds.

"Sorry, mom" we both say at the same time.

"I'm sorry, Caleb. I didn't mean to get so angry. It just pissed me off that you would attack my boyfriend without even knowing him" I say.

"I'm sorry too. But you have to understand you are my little sister and I want what's best for you" he says apologetically.

"First, he" I point at Tobias "is what's best for me. There's no doubt there. And second you have to apologize to him" I say.

"He already did and I invited him over to our place to get to know each other better" Tobias says smiling.

"Did he freak out about the living together part?" I ask with a grin.

"A little bit" Tobias says.

"Good."

"Listen, let's forget what happened and start all over again" Caleb suggests.

"Fine by me" Tobias says.

"For me too" I say.

"Aw my babies" my mom says and hugs all three of us, squeezing me between Caleb and Tobias. We all walk out of the kitchen and into the living room where dad tells an embarrassing story about Caleb. Caleb turns beet root red and almost has a panic attack when mom scolds dad to stop teasing their son. Cara laughs lightly and I walk over to her and apologize.

"It's okay, Tris. He's a bit of a bonehead when it comes to the people he loves. He talks very fond of all of you."

"Cara, can I ask you something?" I ask sitting next to her on the couch.

"Sure. Go ahead."

"When my dad introduced you to Four you said you know him. Where from, if I might ask?"

"You might. I met him on visitation day in the summer. I went to visit my brother. He transferred to Dauntless too" she says. "Maybe you know him" she says and I so hope it's not some jerk.

"What's his name?"

"William. William Hamilton" she says smiling.

"Who?" I ask confused.

"Will, honey. She means Will" Tobias says and I look at him.

"Shut up! Really? I knew you looked familiar. Hey, you were kind of a bitch to my mom that day" I say and turn to my parents and say "yeah, yeah, I know. Language."

"I'm sorry for that, by the way, Mrs. Prior. I was an idiot. I foolishly believed the lies Jeanine Matthews spread around the faction and the city. I had no idea how Abnegation really were like before I met Caleb" she says looking at my brother all in love.

"It's alright, Cara" my mom says.

"But if you are ever disrespectful again I'll clean the city with your ass" I threaten.

"Tris" Tobias says.

"Beatrice" my parents and brother say at the same time.

"No. I'm not listening to you guys. We clear Cara?" I ask and she nods.

"That was really rude" Caleb says making a sour face.

"You can take her place if you want" I say deadly serious and Caleb backs off.

"Mom" he whines like a little boy who just got kicked in the shin.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it like that, right honey?" she asks me.

"I went through Dauntless initiation. If I survived getting beat up every other day, than you can survive this" I say toward my brother keeping a straight face.

"Oh, dear God. You were beat up every day?" Cara asks horrified, probably thinking of her own brother.

"She's fooling you, Cara" Tobias says smiling. "Sometimes she got beat up every day" he says and everyone looks mortified.

"Every day?" Caleb asks in disbelief.

"Sometimes even twice a day" I add.

"Beatrice, how many times do I have to tell you not to scare your brother?" my dad asks.

"She was lying?" Cara asks half incredulous, half relieved.

"Not entirely. Initiation is brutal. Only the strongest make it. This is why she ranked first" Tobias proudly says.

"Wow, I didn't know that" Caleb says.

"Well there are a bunch of things you don't know, Erudite" I say and we start laughing.

We all take a seat at the dining table and enjoy our tea before mom gets up again to start bringing in the food. Caleb and I help just as we did when we still lived at home. Unlike any other time we talked, we laughed, we had fun together and I felt bad when we had to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I decided to color the relationship between the siblings. I have some good examples from my own relationship with my brother. So, I know of these things :)
> 
> Tris’s dress when she goes to lunch in Abnegation  
> http://www.amazon.com/Pendleton-Womens-Magic-Dress-Medium/dp/B00J51HXP0/ref=sr_1_4?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1425736281&sr=1-4&keywords=black+wool+dress
> 
> Tris’s boots when she goes to lunch in Abnegation  
> http://www.amazon.com/Rampage-Womens-Hansel-Riding-Black/dp/B00KHQWNW0/ref=sr_fsl_cat_softlines_brand_0_1?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1425736357&sr=1-1-fed_softlines_strip_1&keywords=black+boots
> 
> Tris’s new hairstyle (imagine it blonde)  
> http://hairstyles-collections.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/2015-bob-hairstyles.jpg


	36. Chapter 36

36

On Sunday Tobias and I locked ourselves in our apartment and texted our friends that we needed some time to ourselves. Tobias surprised me with breakfast in bed, we watched a romantic comedy, than we started cooking lunch together. After lunch we watched an action movie, but didn't pay much attention to it since we were otherwise occupied. We made love five times and by ten p.m. I was so exhausted that I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

The next morning I wake up before Tobias. He holds me in his arms and I watch his handsome face still peacefully sleeping. I know it's still early, but somehow I'm really turned on right now. I lean forward and kiss his full lips gently. Before I can pull back he tightens his arms around me and starts kissing me passionately. He pushes his tongue inside my mouth exploring it like so many times before. We give into our physical urges and make love. Twice. I send him into the bathroom to take a shower while I go downstairs to make our breakfast. I decide on scrambled eggs and bacon, but also some fruit salad. By the time Tobias comes down all clean and dressed for work breakfast is ready and he sits down at the island. I pour him a mug of coffee and put a plate in front of him. I then do the same for me and sit down next to him.

"So, what is on your list today?" he asks smiling.

"I have a meeting with the girls, as well as Ms. Stone, Ms. Aubrey and Mr. Walsh regarding the Halloween party. Afterwards I would like to come to your office to continue reading the files. Unless you have meetings" I say before sipping from my coffee.

"I have no meetings. At least none in the morning. I have a meeting with Dwayne after lunch and then with Zeke. Do you want Tori to sit in your meeting?" he asks.

"No, it's not necessary" I say. "But she's more than welcome if she wants to" I add.

"We'll ask her. You can use my office after lunch to continue reading" he says.

"I have some things to prepare for the party myself. Besides I need to go to the Hub."

"Why? There's no meeting scheduled for today" he says furrowing his eyebrows.

"I know. I need to check something in the bylaws. It might take a while. But I'm confident I will be back before supper" I say.

"Take the car" he says.

"Alright" I reply.

"What? No argument? Who are you and what have you done to my Tris?" he asks all serious.

"Oh, shut up and eat your breakfast" I say smacking his arm lightly.

"It's not every day you agree with me" he says amused.

"That's so not true, Tobias. I agree with you a lot. Just this morning I agreed with you" I say grinning. "Twice actually."

"If you recall it correctly I agreed with you" he says smirking.

"Tomato, tomato" I say and he laughs. We finish eating and while Tobias cleans up I take a quick shower and hurry downstairs. He already waits for me at the bottom of the stairs and when there are two final stairs left I launch myself into his arms and giggle when he catches me. We kiss tenderly before he puts me down and we go to work. We kiss goodbye for the time being and I enter my office. I sit down at my desk and turn on my computer. A knock on my door announces the first person. I tell the person to enter and am a little surprised to see Tori.

"Good morning, Tris" she says.

"Good morning Tori. I see you decided to join me today" I say getting up and shaking her hand.

"Yes. Four told me you had a meeting at the Hub after lunch and asked me if I wanted to join him for his afternoon meetings with Zeke in the control room" she tells me.

"He also has a meeting with Dwayne, you know, our security mastermind" I say with a chuckle.

"What?" she asks shocked.

"What's wrong?" I ask her.

"I wasn't aware we would go there too" she says a little pale.

"Is there a problem? Don't you like Dwayne?" I ask not knowing what to think of her reaction.

"What? Uhm…" she starts mumbling, when a second knock is heard. I tell the other person to enter and my friends come in. I greet them all and offer them seats. By the time Ms. Aubrey, Ms. Stone and Mr. Walsh arrive the office is pretty crowded. I offer them beverages most of them accept coffee and we get down to business.

While we are talking about the final details for the party later this week I notice Tori being completely absent from the discussion. She's usually one to get involved and offer solutions or suggestions. But today she just remains quiet. I wonder if it had anything to do with Dwayne. I thought they were friends. I've seen them a couple of times now and they always seemed so friendly with each other. Maybe it's just my imagination. I return my attention to the matter at hand and realize that our meeting took far longer than I thought. We wrap it up and I write excuse notes for the girls to give to their bosses, since it was my fault they are late for their usual jobs. I thank everyone for coming and we decide that if anything else would come up regarding the party we should call each other. I say goodbye and they all start leaving my office. When Tori starts to get up I ask her to stay a little while longer.

"What's up, Tris?" she asks, trying to be more cheerful than she really is.

"I could ask you the same thing" I say serious.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"I know it's none of my business, but if you have a problem and need someone to talk to my shoulder is available. And of course everything you say will remain between us. Since I got here I came to like you very much. I consider you a friend and I want you to feel comfortable around me. But if you chose not to share with me, maybe you would want to do it with a friend. I hate seeing you like this" I honestly say.

"It's not really a problem. I mean, I don't know" she starts saying. "I'm happy to hear that you consider me a friend. I see you as a friend as well."

"Does it have to do with Dwayne?" I ask bluntly.

"Why do you ask?" she asks blushing.

"I thought it had to with him since your mood changed when I told you that Four had a meeting with him as well" I say and watch her reaction.

"It's a little embarrassing and private" she says.

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to" I say reassuring her.

"What I'm saying stays between us, right?" she asks.

"Of course. If you want I won't even tell Four" I promise her.

"Alright. It's not such a big deal, I just don't know how to say it. You see, you are right, it has something to do with Dwayne. He and I are… well… we are together" she says.

"Really?" I ask stunned. "Didn't seem like it. I thought you were friends, but not that kind of friends."

"We are together" she says again.

"I'm a little confused here. Why is this such a big deal? I mean why is it so important to keep it secret?" I ask. "He's not married, I know that for sure. Does he have another girlfriend?" I ask not really believing that he would do such a thing.

"No, no. It's just… it has been a while since either of us was in a real relationship and we wanted to take it slow before we go around announcing that we are dating" she explains.

"Makes sense. Since when are you a couple?"

"Five weeks" she says smiling brightly.

"Does he know of our proposal?"

"Yes, he was actually the one to encourage me to try it out. He looks all scary and big, but he is gentle and kind and very understanding" she says a lot more relaxed.

"Sounds like someone else I know" I say chuckling.

"Don't tell me…" she says smiling. I only nod and put my index finger over my lips indicating that it is a secret. "Don't worry" she says.

"If you want to make your relationship official I'm here for you to support you both. In fact, if the two of you decide to make it public I would like you two over for dinner sometime" I say.

"You sure Four wouldn't mind?" she asks wary.

"He would love it. He likes you very much. It was his idea to ask you to join us in leadership. And as for Dwayne Four considers him one of his most trustworthy men. He even asked Dwayne to watch me when he's not in the compound or just not around me" I say.

"Four told you that?" she asks in disbelief. "Dwayne told me about it, but I never thought that Four would tell you" she says.

"He didn't. But I'm neither blind nor stupid. He thinks I don't know, but I do. But please don't tell them, let them have their way. I don't mind. Besides I can shake a tale better than they think" I say.

"Alright. Thanks again. Could you do me a favor?" she asks and I nod for her to continue. "I'm not ready yet to tell even Four about Dwayne and me. Could you say that you asked me to help with the party?"

"Of course. Do you want to help? Or do you want to go home?" I ask.

"Is there anything I can still do so late in the planning and preparing phase?"

"Sure. How about you ask Lynn or Shauna if you can help them."

"Thank you, I will do that" she says and gets up to leave my office, when someone knocks on my door. I tell the person to come in and smile when I see Tobias.

"I thought to come and get you" he says.

"Is it lunchtime, already?" I ask. He nods smiling. "Alright. Thank you, Tori for doing this" I say and she nods. "Four, I know you wanted to take Tori with you to see Dwayne and Zeke, but we need some extra help" I say and see Tori smiling from the corner of my eye.

"That's fine. It would have been boring anyways" he says. "You ladies hungry?" he asks.

"Starving" I say.

"I'm going to go find Lynn to discuss the details" Tori says before practically running out of my office.

"What was that all about?" Tobias asks.

"Party business" I say. "Come on, let's get something to eat. These impromptu workouts you put me through are just too much for me" I say dramatically.

"I put you through?" he asks raising an eyebrow. "Do we need to review these workouts?" he asks grinning. I shake my head no and kiss his cheek.

"Let's go." We walk out and I lock my door behind me. We talk about little things on the way down to the cafeteria. When we get there Tobias opens the door and lets me enter first. We walk hand in hand toward our regular table where all our friends already wait for us. I excuse myself for a moment and Tobias looks suspiciously at me. I tell him I need to check something with Ms. Stone and his features soften a little bit. I walk through the many rows of tables in the cafeteria until I reach a metal staircase. I climb to the upper level and walk to the farthest office on the right and knock on the door when I reach it. I wait to be invited in and step inside.

"Hello, Ms. Stone" I say.

"Tris, please, call me Michaela" she says smiling.

"It's just so difficult for me" I say bashful.

"Because of your Abnegation background?" she asks, no trace of malice in her voice when she mentions my old faction. I nod slowly. "It's alright. I think you are very polite and some Dauntless could really have you as a role model when it comes to manners and good behavior" she praises and I blush slightly.

"Thank you, Michaela" I say trying out her given name. She smiles warmly at me.

"How can I help you?"

"I was wondering if I could have the recipe for the Dauntless cake?"

"You want to make one yourself?" she asks surprised.

"Yes. I want to surprise Four with one I've made myself" I say, withholding the fact that I'm going to share the recipe also with my mom.

"That's so sweet of you. He is a lucky guy to have you" she says.

"I'm the lucky one" I say quickly.

"You two are so cute together." I blush even more when she says that. "Do you have pen and paper?" I nod and she starts telling me the recipe. When I'm done I thank her several times and promise her to bring her a slice when I make my first cake. We say goodbye and I hurry back to the cafeteria. My friends have already started eating, but Tobias waited for me and I furrow my eyebrows at him.

"You should have started without me" I scold.

"I'm fine" he says kissing my cheek when I sit down next to me. He puts his left arm around my waist and pulls me close to him. I lean my head on his shoulder and enjoy his warmth for a moment before we both fill our plates. We eat our meal and before I leave he calls me to his office. We walk up to the Pire and he lets me enter first before he closes and locks the door behind us. I look at him curious but am unable to ask what he's up to when he crashes his lips over mine. He kisses me ferociously and I melt in his arms. He travels down my neck and sucks lightly on my pulse point. I wrap my arms around his neck and he picks me up, one arm under my legs and the other holding my back, carrying me to the couch where he lays me down and settles himself between my outstretched legs. We make out passionately when my phone buzzes. Tobias pulls back and growls loudly. I smile at him and cup his face before I answer my phone.

"Hello" I say, Tobias still laying between my legs and now nuzzling my neck.

"Hello, Beatrice" My mom says and I jump up, almost knocking Tobias off of me completely.

"Hi, mom" I say nervously.

"What is wrong?" she asks concerned.

"Nothing."

"You sound out of breath" she says.

"I was running up the stairs, that's why" I quickly say and Tobias finally gets up helping me too. "What can I do for you?" I ask.

"You didn't call me to say if you would come today" she says.

"I have something to do today. Mom, can I call you later?" I ask.

"Of course" she says. We say goodbye and I quickly hang up. I grab Tobias by his collar and pull him down to me kissing him again.

When we pull apart Tobias rests his forehead on mine and we both breathe heavily. We look into each other's eyes and smile brightly, both our cheeks flushed.

"What did your mom want?" he says leaning back on the couch and putting my legs over his rubbing a hand up and down their length.

"I promised I would bring her a special recipe" I say and beckon him with my finger to come closer so that I can whisper in his ear. "She wanted the recipe for Dauntless cake" I say and he chuckles.

"Did you get it?" he asks curiously.

"Of course I did" I say almost offended. He laughs lightly and kisses the back of my left hand. "I need to get going. I don't want to stay too long there."

"You want me to come pick you up?" he asks and I shake my head no.

"You have meetings to attend. Besides I'm taking the car. What could possibly happen?" I ask and he furrows his eyebrows. "Relax, baby. You taught me well" I say and lean forward to kiss him. I make sure not to ignite the flames of passion again, because I know that once ignited nothing can stop them. I get up, get the car keys from his desk drawer, kiss him on the lips and leave his office. I pull out my phone and once I'm in the car I dial mom's number. When she answers I put her on speaker to not have to hold the phone while driving.

"Hello, sweetheart" she says.

"Hi, mom. Sorry for hanging up on you like that but I was with Tobias in his office. We had to go over a few things before I had to leave."

"You left?" she asks surprised.

"Yeah, I need to check something at the Hub. Is it okay if we meet tomorrow? Maybe after lunch?" I ask her.

"Of course. I will get everything at the mart" she says.

"Mom, I told you. You don't have to."

"It's my pleasure. And I like to pick the ingredients out myself."

"Alright. I'll call you tomorrow when I leave the compound. Is that alright?"

"Of course. Drive safely, sweetheart" she says and we hang up.

I drive for another ten minutes before I reach the Hub. I park the car and get out of it, making sure to lock it. I enter the building and greet the guard in the lobby, who knows me well enough from all the council meetings I've attended in the last two months. I take the elevator to the fifth floor where the archives are and go to the front desk to check in. As council member I have unrestricted access to the files, but I'm not allowed to take originals with me. Thankfully I'm allowed to scan or copy them. I walk into the dusty old room and look for the section I'm most interested in – the city legislation since its inception. If I want to change something around here, for the better mind you, I need to understand the law, from the beginning of the system until this very day. Rows upon rows of thick old law books await me and I almost regret coming here. It can take me months to work through this. I start with the newest version, since it's the one in use. I read the section that I'm interested in and pick out every other law book the current one makes reference to. I walk to the computer at the end of the room and start scanning all the pages that interest me. The scanning alone takes me two hours. I wonder how long it will take me to read those pages. I shake the thought from my mind and return to the task at hand. I use a secure thumb drive to store the information and return to the front desk with all the books I've used to be properly stored again. I make sure to hide the thumb drive in my jeans and erase all data from the computer, so that no one knows what I was looking for. While I'm not doing anything illegal here, some people might not like what I'm doing. Even though I said I don't want to change the system, the more I think about it the more I realize that's exactly what I'm doing. I check out again and walk the short distance to where I've parked the car, when I feel someone approaching me. All those months in Dauntless and training to survive initiation made me much more aware of my surroundings than before. I turn around to face whoever is lurking behind me and I'm momentarily startled to see Myra.

"Myra?" I ask incredulous.

"Hi Tris" she says, trying to smile.

"What are you doing here?" I ask her.

"I need to talk to you, but not here. Could you meet me on the roof where we entered Dauntless that first day? At midnight?" she asks I think hopeful.

"Can you tell me what this is all about?" I inquire.

"Not here. It's not safe. Please" she says and I'm inclined to agree.

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"There are people watching us. There are people following me. For the past few weeks I pretended to lose my mind to keep them away from me" she says. "Do you have any food with you?"

"I think I have an energy bar in the glove compartment. Are you hungry?" I ask suddenly realizing that she must be.

"Not really, but I need to tell them that I approached you for it" she says fidgeting.

"Alright" I say and open the car to retrieve the bar. I give it to her and she makes a point to thank me loudly, but not enough to draw to much attention.

"Please, the entrance at midnight" she says again. "Come alone". She leaves before I can tell her anything.

I get in my car and drive away thinking of the strange encounter. I wonder if I should tell Tobias, when I'm pulling into the garage. I get out of the car, check my pockets for the thumb drive, lock the car and walk to my office. On my way there I see Tobias returning from one of his meetings with a concerned look on his face.

"What's wrong, honey?" I ask and startle him. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he hasn't even noticed me.

"Sweetheart, I'm so glad you're back" he says hugging me close to him. "Come to my office. I need to tell you something."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know - cliffhanger. I'm evil that way. But it's a good thing :P


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Warning! Explicit content in this chapter.

37

I follow Tobias into his office and watch him close and lock the door like before. I want to tell him that there's no way he will get lucky, when he turns to look at me and I see the concern return to his beautiful eyes.

"Tobias, what's wrong?"

"I just came back from a meeting with Dwayne and Zeke. There have been some attacks" he says.

"Attacks? What kind of attacks?" I ask all alerted. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Not exactly. The attacks aren't physical" he says.

"What do you mean?" I ask confused.

"They are more of a financial nature" he says.

"You mean there have been actual reports on funds missing?" I ask.

"More or less" he says ambiguously.

"Tobias, for God's sake, could you be more precise?" I ask annoyed.

"I don't know how exactly to describe it. Walsh contacted me yesterday morning while I made our breakfast. He asked to see me today to discuss something. Before you say anything, I wanted to call you to join us, but I figured he had something boring to say. I knew you had a meeting with him too, so I asked him to stop by my office first. He told me that small amounts of points started disappearing from the main Dauntless account over the past year. We both agreed that it might have something to do what you two already found out. I told him to keep this to himself for now, especially since you guys had the whole group of girls to talk to about the party. I asked him to join me during my meeting with Zeke and Dwayne to discuss this further. It seems like there is a leak" Tobias explains.

"Why haven't you told me something earlier?" I ask a little angry.

"Before you left I had no idea the extent of it. Walsh could only tell me that there was a leak, but since he had to attend the party planning meeting and we didn't want to make a fuss, I never learned the extent of the situation."

"Is it bad?" I ask.

"Not seriously to damage us or anything, but it needs investigating though. I asked Zeke and Dwayne to keep an eye out until we can figure out how this is working" he tells me.

"When's your next meeting with them?"

"Tomorrow morning. You have something scheduled?"

"No, not until after lunch. I want to sit in and be informed properly. Should we call Tori to sit in?"

"She hasn't made a decision yet, but maybe if she faces a real problem she can make up her mind for good" he says.

"I agree."

"I'm so glad that you are back. I hate it when you're not around. I want you to be safe. Always" he says and pulls me in his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck and put my head on his shoulder breathing his scent in.

"I'm safe. Don't worry about me" I try to calm him, but I know how he feels, even though he's exaggerating.

"I always worry about you, love" he says softly rubbing my back.

"Honey, there's something I need to tell you" I look up at him, silently telling him that it is important and I can see that I've got his full attention.

"What is it?"

"When I left the Hub I saw someone I haven't seen in a long while" I start saying.

"Who?" he asks impatiently.

"Myra."

"Myra? Did you see her or did you see her?" he asks hinting on my dreams.

"I saw her, for real. She approached me telling me she had something important to tell me, but couldn't do it there because she was followed."

"Followed? By whom?" he asks.

"No idea. But she wants to meet me on the roof top to the initiates entrance at midnight tonight" I say. "Alone" I add.

"No way you're going alone" he firmly says. Didn't think so.

"Why do you think I told you?" I ask. "If I wanted to go alone I wouldn't have told you. But we swore to tell each other the truth. Besides, I have no idea if she was talking the truth or maybe it's some sort of trap or maybe she's just insane" I say.

"Why would she be insane?" he asks furrowing his eyebrows.

"She told me she pretended to go nuts for the past few weeks, so that they would leave her alone."

"Who's they?"

"No clue. But she seemed to be genuinely afraid of whoever they are. So, what do you think?"

"I think I'm coming with you" he firmly says.

"I think not" I say and he opens his mouth to say something but I close it by kissing him. While I slip my tongue inside his mouth to tangle it with his, I pull out my phone from my back pocket. I pull away leaving us both breathless and text Zeke and Dwayne to come immediately to Tobias's office.

"Who did you text?" he asks curiously.

"Zeke and Dwayne" I say and he growls loudly.

"Why? We just had so much fun" he says whining. I giggle at his outburst and kiss him lightly on the lips.

"We can continue this later, Tobias. I have a plan and I need Zeke's and Dwayne's help" I say.

"Alright" he says, pulling me back into his arms and kissing me softly. A knock on the door makes us pull apart again and I get up to open it. I let the two men enter and close the door behind them.

"Thank you for coming so quickly" I tell them motioning them to sit on the two arm chairs, while I sit next to Tobias on the couch.

"What's going on, Tris?" Dwayne asks.

"Did Four tell you about the attacks?" Zeke asks.

"Yes, but this is about something else." I tell them about my earlier encounter with Myra, give them some background information on her as far as I can remember. I then walk over to the file cabinets and retrieve Myra's file to show them her picture.

"How can we help you?" Dwayne asks.

"I already agreed with Four that going alone would be foolish" I say and I see Zeke smirking toward Tobias. "What?" I ask.

"Nothing" he says still smirking.

"Did Four complain again that I deliberately disagree with him?" I ask looking toward Tobias to see his reaction.

"I would never do that" he says seriously, but Zeke nods vigorously and Tobias glares at his best friend.

"Alright, alright. What was I saying?" I ask.

"That you agreed with Four not to go alone" Dwayne reminds me.

"Yes, right. Thank you, Dwayne. Zeke, are there any cameras on or near the roof to the initiates entrance?"

"There are a few."

"Can you transfer the footage to your computer in your office so that you can watch the area without anyone seeing you?"

"I can."

"Good. Dwayne" I say and he looks at me in anticipation "given the location, how many men would you need to cover every escape route in case of an attack?"

"Five, including me."

"Alright. Do you have four men who you can trust?"

"Yes. Let me call them" he says and I nod. He leaves the office to make the calls.

"What about me? I'm not going to sit back and let you expose yourself" Tobias says standing up and towering over me. I stand up too and look into his eyes and smile.

"You will wait for me down at the net" I say and he raises an eyebrow.

"The net? Why?"

"No matter the outcome of this encounter I will take that path back into the compound" I say grinning.

"You just wanna jump" Zeke says smirking.

"Yeah, besides it's the fastest way back to you" I say to Tobias and grab his large hand in my smaller one, squeezing it lightly. Just as Tobias wants to say something again Dwayne enters, followed by four security guards.

"Tris, Four, Zeke, these are Mike, Jake, Sam and Drake" Dwayne introduces them and we all shake hands.

"Did you tell them what this is about?" I ask Dwayne and he nods. "Good. Our target will contact me at 2400 hours. The target is female and even though she went through the first stage of Dauntless initiation, she never seemed one to pick a fist fight. She wants to tell me something, but asked me to come alone. It is more than likely that she has a tale and somebody else, whether she is aware or not, will be there too. You need to stay hidden from sight. I know for certain that Dauntless patrols check the perimeter every three hours, mostly to keep kids away from the drop side. I want you four" I say toward the new arrivals "to do it. Dwayne, please contact the regular patrol and tell them they have the rest of the day off. They will get paid nevertheless. In fact, this change won't even be mentioned in the books. Are we clear?" I ask.

"Yes, ma'am" all five security guards say and I suppress a smile.

"Next. Zeke, go to the control room and prepare everything for tonight. Start recording everything from the moment you gain access to those cameras. In case there is a blind angle, could you install an additional camera?"

"I could do that, but I need to wait for the evening, so that no one sees me" he explains.

"Alright. Do you need any help?" I ask.

"At least one other person" he says.

"I can help you" Tobias says.

"No. I need to talk to you about something later. It can't wait. Zeke, call Will. He was Erudite and is familiar with the technology we use here" I command and Zeke obliges. He calls Will and tells him that I'm asking for his assistance, but doesn't give any details. While we wait for Will we go over the first part of the plan again. When we decide everything is clear a knock on the door announces Will's arrival. Zeke pulls him to the side to explain the situation as quickly as he can.

"Is there anything else we need?" Dwayne asks.

"How do you guys communicate?" I ask.

"We use these" Jake, one of the guards shows me a walkie-talkie.

"Alright. Use a different frequency than usual. What we're doing tonight is top secret and we don't want anyone snooping around. Also, set it to the lowest volume, we don't want to give away our positions."

"I'll take care of it. How about you, Tris? You can't use a walkie-talkie. It would give too much away" Dwayne says concerned.

"I'm going to use my phone" I say. "Before I get to the roof through the buildings staircase I will call Four and hide the phone so that no one sees it's even there. Four will hear everything through the phone and he will also have a walkie-talkie to communicate with you guys. Four, you need to set your phone to record the conversation, in case we need to rewind it later to analyze it. There might be clues that I won't pick up right away and sometimes two pair of ears are better than one."

"How else can I help, Tris?" Will asks when he joins the group.

"Just help Zeke with what he needs and afterwards go to the control room to watch the area. Until this is wrapped up we are all on alert. Any questions?" I ask. They all shake their head no. "Alright. We will meet at the net at 2330 hours. Don't be late" I say and dismiss them all. They all leave the office and I lock the door again.

"Wow, that was something" Tobias says to me while wrapping his strong arms around me.

"What do you mean?" I ask confused.

"You acted like a real leader" he says proud.

"I am a real leader" I say with a pout.

"I meant a soldier, general kind of type."

"Well, I guess all those action movies we've watched rubbed off on me" I say and he laughs.

"Yeah, I guess. What did you want to talk to me about?" he asks looking deep into my eyes and I momentarily lose my train of thoughts.

"First, when we need to be leaders and lead you need to stop staring into my eyes like that" I say and he smirks.

"Why? Are you getting weak in your knees?" he asks proud of himself.

"You wish" I say playful and smack his arm. "And second, we should have this discussion at home" and his grin widens. I'm confused for a moment as to why, when I realize what he's thinking. "Nah-ah. It's about our chit-chat" I say and he seems to understand. He lets go of me and we leave the office, locking it behind us. We hurry to our apartment and lock ourselves in. We sit on the couch and I lean on Tobias. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and I feel desire bubbling up inside me, but I have to push it away. At least for a while.

"So, what exactly do we need to discuss?" he asks and pulls me out of my daydream.

"We will be connected through our minds. If something is going on I will tell you through my thoughts, so that only you can hear me and you need to do the same."

"Do you think it will work?" he asks not sure of this.

"I'm sure. And if something doesn't work you can still hear me through the phone and tell the others via walkie-talkie. It'll be fine. Besides I can always take the leap and you can pull me out of the net again" I say smirking.

"Just like the day we met" he says before crashing his lips on mine. We kiss passionately and just give into each other. He slowly travels from my lips to my left ear, nibbling on the lobe and sticking his tongue inside my ear. I moan loudly and it seems this only fuels his own desire more, because the next thing I know is that I'm lying on my back and he is on top of me sucking, licking and biting along my throat. He reaches my collar and kisses each of my ravens paying special attention to the one dedicated to him. His left hand caresses my side and pulls at the hem of my shirt until it's all up my body and I lift myself enough for him to discard it. It lands on the floor next to the couch, closely followed by his own shirt, which he quickly decides to get rid of. Which I so don't mind. I run my hand up and down his perfect body, tracing his faction tattoo and sending shivers through his body. When he looks into my eyes again his irises are so dilated that the beautiful dark-blue is replaced by an intense black filled with lust. We stare at each other for a moment before I pull his mouth back to mine and slip my tongue inside his mouth to fight his for dominance. I can feel the anticipation threatening to devour me and I start pleading with him.

"Baby, please, I need you" I say panting. He caresses my right breast with his left hand, while he sucks on the left breast through the fabric. My nipples are hard and ache for him and he lifts my bra over my chest revealing the small mounds in all their splendor. He licks my left nipple, while holding the right one between his thumb and index finger rotating slightly. When he bites down on the hardened bud I come hard and cry out his name. But he doesn't stop his ministrations there. He continues his adoration of my breasts before he continues further south, past my navel, to my pants pulling them and my panties off in one swift movement. I am now lying completely exposed in front of the man I love, but it doesn't bother me. The way he looks at me, like I'm the most precious thing he ever laid eyes on, makes me shudder in excitement. I decide he is overdressed for the occasion and make quick work on discarding his pants and boxer briefs revealing his splendid manhood in front of me. His erect member is twitching in front of my face and I lick my lips. Tobias growls loudly and I look up at him.

"That was so God damn hot" he says. "I almost came when you licked your lips" he says breathless. "Love me with your mouth" he says.

I smirk at him and his boldness and oblige. I grab his member gently and start stroking. I let my hand glide up and down his shaft watching him the whole time. He closes his eyes relishing every moment. When he starts getting harder and bigger I place a gentle kiss to the tip before taking it in my mouth and sucking gently. I start a leisurely pace sucking in as much as I can and stroking whatever remains outside. When I feel him swell more I know he is close and start tracing his testicles with my fingertips when he explodes shooting his semen deep in my throat. I swallow his load and suck him off, removing my mouth from his still pulsating member with a loud "pop". I look up to find him smile down on me.

"I love you so much" he says helping me stand up again and wrapping me in his arms. He is still breathing heavily and his heart is pounding in his chest that I'm afraid it might burst out.

"I love you too" I say. "Let's go upstairs" I say still hugging him tightly to me. He scoops me up in his arms and practically flies up the stairs and into our bedroom making me giggle. He gently lays me down in the middle of the bed, covering me with his body. We lay like this for a while kissing softly and whispering sweet words of love to one another until the flames are burning high again and we give in to the passion.

I spread my legs and let him position himself at my entrance. I fully expect him to penetrate me when he slides down my body placing my legs over his shoulders and starts licking my womanhood with his velvet tongue. I throw my head back enjoying the wonderful pleasure he's giving me with his mouth and moan contently. He sucks and bites lightly at my bundle of nerves and I feel a blazing fire threatening to consume me. I manage to say "more" and he inserts his tongue deep inside me. He sticks it in and out driving me insane and I demand "more". He removes his tongue and replaces it with two fingers. He keeps a steady pace and licks and sucks on my clit until I come hard. I breathe heavy and feel like I've been working out for hours. Tobias crawls up to meet my eyes and kiss my swollen lips. We kiss passionately and I can taste my orgasm on his tongue.

"I love that I can make you come like that" he says when he lays next to me, his head propped up on his elbow. I blush at his words and he laughs lightly before kissing my lips. "I love that I make you blush like this even more" he says caressing my cheek with the back of his finger. I turn on my side facing him. I pull his mouth back to mine and start kissing him. I'm not done loving him. I want him. Bad.

I push him a little and he now lies on his back. I straddle his hips and grab his already hard member positioning it at my soaked entrance. He momentarily stops me and I furrow my eyebrows at him. He reaches for his nightstand and gets a condom out of the drawer. He opens the package and hands me the condom. I put it on his impressive manhood and position myself over him. I rub the tip over my womanhood to moisturize it with my juices before impaling myself with it. We both let out loud moans at the new sensation. I stay still for a while getting used to the fullness within me before I start rocking back and forth in a very slow rhythm. Tobias reaches up cupping my breasts and kneading them thoroughly. When I feel my orgasm approach I start lifting myself up on his shaft and Tobias grabs my hips helping me get up and then slide down on his length over and over again until the pace we established is at such a frenzied speed that I fear I might black out from all the pleasure I'm feeling. Tobias meets my downward thrust with upward thrusts of his own until we both reach our mind-blowing climaxes and cry out each other's name. When I'm coming down from my high I collapse on Tobias's heaving chest and he wraps his arms securely around me. We remain joined for a while longer enjoying the intimate connection, even though I would enjoy it even more without the latex. I sigh loudly and catch his attention.

"What's wrong, love?" he asks running his hand up and down my back.

"I just thought of how much better it feels without the condom" I say.

"I know. We just have to wait a little while longer. I know you haven't taken any flu medication in almost a week, but we shouldn't challenge our luck" he says kissing my head.

"I know. I wish we would already know. It's killing me" I say in frustration.

"What, love?"

"To know if I'm pregnant or not" I say looking up at him.

"I know how you feel. The waiting is killing me too. I just want to know. To be honest I don't care anymore if you are in fact pregnant. I actually think I would like it" he says smiling shyly at me.

"Really?" I ask surprised.

"Yes. After you showed me your dream I kept thinking about it. I would love a baby" he says a little hopeful.

"Don't you think we are too young for that kind of responsibility?" I ask.

"We are young, but we are leaders. An entire faction wouldn't have chosen us if they thought we wouldn't be ready" he argues.

"I agree, but having a baby and leading a faction are two different things. We can always make up for screwing up at work, but a child is different. It needs special care and attention and we can't just forget about it after five p.m."

"I know. I'm just saying" he says a little defeated. "Don't you want a baby?" he asks a little sad.

"Honey, I already told I want kids. There's nothing I would want more than you and me parent a beautiful little baby boy or girl" I say smiling. "I just think it's not the right time. But in case I am expecting than we'll deal with it. We love each other and I know we'll love our babies more than anything."

"Babies?" he asks with a chuckle. "So you are planning on more than one" he says.

"At least two."

"What about three?" he asks and I raise an eyebrow.

"Why three?"

"We have three extra bedrooms. Or maybe we are lucky and have twins. Maybe even two pairs. Then we'll have four or maybe even five kids" he says and I must look with horror at him because he starts laughing. "Oh, honey, I'm just messing with you. But seriously now, no matter how many we have we will love them very much."

"Yeah, we certainly will" I say kissing his lips softly. His stomach growls loudly and we pull apart laughing. "We should grab a bite to eat. We're going to have a long night ahead of us" I say. I get up and walk into the bathroom to take a shower, followed closely by Tobias. We step into the shower promising to not fool around since we need to get our head in the game.

The time we spend in the shower is one of my favorite. Even if we don't end up having hot sex in there it's still very sensual, but also fun. We wash each other and have time to just talk about our plans for the day or the next. The best part however is when Tobias massages me while the warm spray of water rains down on us and I relax almost instantly no matter how stressed or angry I was minutes before.

We quickly finish in the shower and we head back into the bedroom where we get dressed. We then walk downstairs and decide to just make a pizza since it's already past 8 p.m. and the cafeteria is about to close. While the pizza is in the oven we sit down on the couch and just snuggle, Tobias playing with my short strands and I make tiny circles on his thigh.

We go over the plan again, discussing every detail when the kitchen timer goes off and I go to take out the pizza. We eat at the island avoiding business talk. When we finish we clean up and resume our places on the couch. Tobias turns on the stereo letting it fill the room with soft romantic ballads. We snuggle together, Tobias pulling me in his lap and me resting my head on his shoulder.

"We have discussed everything about tonight, but we forgot one thing" he says and I look up at him.

"What?" I ask curious.

"We prepared everything making sure you are safe at all times. But we never discussed what she might want from you" he says.

"Until I meet with her we won't know."

"But what do you think she wants from you? What could she possibly have to tell you?" he insists.

"Honey, I don't know. Let us cross that bridge when we get there" I say.

"Aren't you curious?"

"Of course I am, but what good would come if I would crack my skull to figure out her secret if I have absolutely no clue what this is all about?" I ask.

"I guess you are right. You wanna watch a movie or something?"

"No. Let us just stay here and enjoy our time together. But let us set the alarm for 11.15 p.m. in case we fall asleep" I say and he sets the alarm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What is it that Myra has to tell Tris?
> 
> And what about the attacks? Who's behind them? And why?
> 
> As always, I'll wait for your opinions.
> 
> Until next time (which is Sunday) :)


	38. Chapter 38

38

As expected I fell asleep and I'm a little grouchy when Tobias shakes me awake.

"Tris" he says softly, rocking me to wake me up. "Tris" I hear him say again and I growl loudly. I hear him chuckle.

"Five more minutes" I say.

"Sweetheart, we need to go. Myra will be here soon" he says. At the mention of Myra's name I open my eyes and blink a few times to wake up properly. "I'm sorry, honey, but we need to get going" he softly says before placing a kiss to my lips.

"What time is it?" I ask, sleep still thick in my voice.

"11.20 p.m. I've tried for the past five minutes to wake you, but you just seemed to ignore me" he says chuckling. "If this is a preview on how the kids will act in the morning then you might be right and we should wait a while longer."

"Hey" I say offended but he kisses me before I can say anything more.

"Come on, baby. Let's get going. The others will be at the net shortly." I get up and I put my warm coat on. We leave the apartment, making sure to lock it. We walk hand in hand the already familiar staircase and walk through the Pit to get to the initiate entrance. By the time we get there Dwayne is already there and Zeke arrives at the same time with us. Obviously Dwayne is in contact with his men since he's holding his walkie-talkie in his right hand ready to give them orders.

"Is everything ready?" Tobias asks transforming into Four.

"Yes. My men are in position" Dwayne reports.

"On our end too. I left Will in my office to monitor everything while I'm here. Do you still need me here or can I go back?" Zeke tells us.

"Did you make sure to capture the entire perimeter?" I ask and he nods.

"Yes, there are no more blind spots. We are good to go" he says smiling.

"Alright. We should get into position" Tobias says. Dwayne hands Tobias his walkie-talkie and turns it on. Zeke leaves to go back to the control room, while Dwayne resumes his guarding position outside. When we are alone again Tobias wraps me in his arms. "Are you sure you want to do this? You can still say no" he tries to convince me and I glare at him. He sighs loudly. "Don't get mad. I'm just worried for your safety, no matter how many precautions we took." I soften my gaze and cup his face in my right palm.

"I know, baby. I love you so much" I say before standing on my tip-toes and placing a gentle, tender kiss on his lips. When we part we smile at each other.

"I love you too" he says. We kiss again and then I walk toward the staircase that leads to the roof.

"Can you hear me, Tobias?" I ask in my mind.

"Loud and clear" he says back.

"Great" I say and then trip over a stair. "God damn" I swear.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asks concerned.

"Nothing, I tripped and fell on my knee. I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Okay. Be careful. We want you to get to the roof in one piece" he says jokingly.

"Haha, very funny" I say. "Geez this takes forever to get up" I say half complaining.

"It'll be over soon. You know what the good part is?" he asks, probably trying to cheer me up.

"That you don't have to do it?"

"Haha yourself. No. You can jump back into my arms. Literally" he says and I can hear him smile.

"True. But you have to promise not to look in my eyes the way you did that first time. I might wanna take you right there" I say.

"Damn it, woman. If you keep talking like that you will get me hard again" he says roughly. I chuckle at what he said.

"Alright. I'll behave. For now."

"You better. Once we are back I'm gonna punish you, little vixen" he says and I laugh.

"Can't wait" I say teasingly. We remain quiet for a while and then he starts talking again.

"Do you remember when I pulled you out of that net and asked you for your name?" he asks.

"Yes."

"You were so cute when you got all nervous and didn't know how to answer" he says.

"I actually wanted to answer I'm Mrs. Whatever your last name is" I say.

"Get out. You didn't" he says.

"Yeah, I did. Well I wanted to, but realized it wouldn't go well with my undercover" I say.

"What undercover?" he asks curious.

"I was the Stiff, remember? I already blew it when I jumped first. I couldn't add fuel to the fire and hit on this gorgeous guy who literally picked me up" I say.

"You are crazy" he says laughing. "But I love your craziness. And I love you."

"I love you too. I'm going to call you now. I'm almost there. Don't forget to press record" I say.

"I won't. Don't worry. Take care of yourself up there and let me know if something's up so that I can tell the others."

"Wait. How are you going to explain to them that something's up when you can't see what's going on up here?" I ask. I don't want them to ask questions about how he knew. It would expose me too much.

"I know. A safe word."

"Like when we have sex?" I ask raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"No, baby. I mean sort of. If something seems wrong or you think Myra's up to something use a safe word so that I know."

"Gotcha. Let me think. How about pansycake?" I ask.

"You need to be able to use it in a sentence, but I think it'll work. If not tell me telepathically the word you want to use and then say it out loud."

"Sounds good. I'm on the roof. There's no sign of her" I tell him.

"There's still some time left. It's five minutes until midnight."

"Isn't there a train that passes this section exactly at midnight?" I ask him. He remains quiet for a moment.

"I think you are right."

"Hang on, I'm going to the edge to see if there is one coming."

"Tris, be careful" he says panicked.

"Relax, honey. I'm careful. But if you don't stop panicking and freaking out you might get a heart attack. I want to have you around for many years to come."

"I can't turn it off, honey. I'm always worried about you."

"I know. So am I about you. But we need to trust that we can take care of ourselves. Can you do that?" I ask gently. I know how difficult it is. Even though he is Four and he knows how to take care of himself, I'm still worried when I don't know where he is or if I know he is in danger. My heart aches and I can't help but worry even more until he is back in my arms.

"I'll try" he says a little defeated.

"I see a train. She must be on it" I say.

"Go to the middle of the roof. Don't give her any opportunity to push you over the edge" he tells me.

"Alright."

I go toward the middle of the roof and wait for the train to pass to see if Myra is on it. I turn around to face the tracks and wait. From where I'm standing I can't see the train anymore, but I can hear it. A few minutes pass and I see it rush by and a dark figure jumping off. The figure stumbles and falls down and I feel the urge to walk over and help. But I stay grounded to the spot. I wait for the dark figure to come closer and reveal itself.

"Myra?" I ask.

"Hello, Tris" she says approaching me.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me?" I ask firmly.

"There's a plot" she says.

"A plot?"

"Yes. I know I might seem crazy to you, but I'm not. I've been trying to mislead the others with it" she tells me.

"What others?"

"There are people in the city who aren't happy about what you did" she says.

"What are you talking about? What did I do?" I inquire.

"You stopped the Dauntless from killing the Abnegation" she says. Is she implying that Erudite is still plotting?

"By people you mean Erudite?" I ask further.

"No. Maybe. But the people I'm talking about don't belong anywhere" she says ambiguously. I think for a moment before I understand what she's saying.

"The factionless?" I ask in disbelief. She nods. "How? What would they gain from that?"

"I'm not really sure. I was never included in the meetings. I only know what he told me" she says, her voice sad.

"By he, do you mean Edward?" I ask with caution, remembering my outer body experiences.

"Yes" she says and there are tears in her eyes.

"Did something happen to him?" I ask.

"Yes." She remains quiet and I want to tell her to tell me more. "He has changed. He is not the sweet guy I fell in love with."

"Is he violent with you?" I ask her feeling sorry for her and her situation.

"No. We are not together anymore. He always got angry because I refused to understand him."

"What do you mean?"

"Since we became factionless he follows this woman blindly around. He does whatever she asks without questioning anything. She has become something like a mother to him, but I know she has her own agenda. He is trying his hardest to please her, be the son she lost."

"What's her name?" I ask, but already suspect who the woman is she is referring to.

"Her name is Evelyn Johnson."

I knew it. I try not to think out loud to avoid an awkward conversation with Tobias right now.

"You said there is a plot. Is she plotting?"

"Yes. She is the leader of the factionless, but I told you, I don't know much. They haven't included me in their inner circle."

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask her.

"Since Edward started following this woman he changed a lot. He blames the faction system for what happened to him" she says sad.

"It was Peter" I say.

"I know. But the former Dauntless leaders gave Edward no choice but to leave Dauntless and live factionless. I joined him because I loved him. I still do. But his hatred toward the faction and the faction system is more important to him than me. I remember that Evelyn told us that soon the system will collapse. That something is about to happen, but she never said what. Then the Dauntless attacked Abnegation and she was sure that this was only the beginning of the faction system's downfall. However when you stopped the murders from happening she ran around like crazy, raging over the fact that you ruined her plans."

"Her plans?"

"I couldn't tell you what that means. She was very upset and when one of her loyal men told her that her son was partially to blame for this she just disappeared for days. During that time Edward was going crazy. He asked around where she was but no one knew or no one wanted to tell him. We got into a fight and we broke up. I was so devastated that I ran away only to run into Evelyn's arms. She asked me what was going on and I foolishly told her that Edward and I broke up. She told me it was good. At least now he could concentrate on more important things than a silly infatuation. I got so angry and I yelled at her that we love each other, that we were meant to be. She only laughed and said that love is for children and that I was only temporary. The only one permanent is she" Myra confesses with tears streaming down her face.

"I'm so sorry" I say wrapping her in my arms while she's sobbing. We sit down on the gravel and I rock her gently to calm her. I knew Evelyn is a bitch but this is a new level of bitchiness.

"I don't know what she's planning, but it can't be good. She is a bad person, Tris."

"Myra, if what you told me is true, you need to get away from her."

"Where?" she asks looking up into my eyes.

"I don't know. Don't go near her. Stay away from her as much as you can. Have you told anyone about our meeting?"

"No. I don't trust anyone" she says and starts crying again.

"Tobias, ask Dwayne if there's any sign of unwanted company."

"Why? What are you up to?"

"Just do it." I rub a hand up and down Myra's back to soothe her, waiting for Tobias to make contact.

"There's no sign of anyone being here."

"Alright. Thank you."

"Myra, do you really want to help?" I ask. She nods vigorously. "Alright. Jump" I say. She looks at me in shock.

"What? You want to kill me?" she asks frightened.

"What? No. I meant into the net. Four is down there waiting for me to come. Go ahead, jump" I encourage. She goes to the edge of the building and takes the leap.

"Is she safe with you?" I ask Tobias.

"Yes. You can jump, love" he answers.

I step over the edge and jump into the net. I bounce off a few times until I lie there steady. I feel the net move and look toward Tobias's smiling face. He helps me get out and we are standing in the same place we stood almost five months ago. So much has happened since then.

"I'm Four" he says. "What's your name?" he asks smiling.

"Mrs. Whatever your last name is" I whisper in his ear.

"Tris" I hear Myra and turn to look at her. "What am I doing here?"

"You said you wanted to help. But first let me help you. Let's go to my office. Four, could you take care of the thing?" I ask and he nods. I walk away with Myra side by side. "Tobias, ask Dwayne to come to my office. You too. Please, get a vial of truth serum as well. I will wait with her in my office for your arrival."

"Alright, but please be careful."

"I will."

I open the door to my office and turn on the lights before letting her enter first. I offer her a seat on the couch and ask if I could get her something to drink. She asks for a tea and I make some for me as well. I sit down next to her and wait for Tobias's and Dwayne's arrival. It doesn't take long and I hear a knock on my door. Myra jumps up, startled by the intrusion and I try to calm her down. I tell them to enter and soon Tobias and Dwayne sit across from us on the two arm chairs.

"Myra, you remember Four, right?" I ask her and she nods. "This is Dwayne, our security head. Would you mind if I tell them what you told me?" She shakes her head no. I briefly tell them about the plot, although Tobias already heard everything and he probably briefed Dwayne too. They both listen as if this is the first time they hear about this.

"Myra, you have to understand that I don't really know you" I say. "Would you mind if we would interrogate you under truth serum?" She looks a little shocked, but agrees nonetheless. She really wants to help it seems. "Four, do you have the truth serum?" I ask looking at Tobias who nods. He pulls the vial out and walks to my desk to retrieve a back-up serum administration kit. He then returns to the couch and injects Myra with it. We wait a minute for the serum to activate before I let Tobias start his questioning.

"What is your name?" he asks.

"Myra Jenkins."

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"What was your birth faction?"

"Erudite."

"What is your current faction?"

"I'm factionless."

"You talked about a plot. Who is plotting?"

"I can't say much about it, since I was never included in the meetings. I guess Evelyn, the factionless leader, and a few trusted people of hers."

"Do you know anyone who could tell us more about it?"

"Edward."

"Who is Edward?"

"Edward Meyer. He is my former boyfriend. He became very attached to Evelyn over the past few months since we live there." I watch Tobias closely. I know about his feelings toward his mother, but hearing about her replacing him with someone else must hurt him. I wish I would have turned that stupid phone off. But how could I have guessed that Evelyn keeps Edward close to her, because he reminds her of Tobias.

"Would he be willing to tell us more?" he asks further.

"No. He follows Evelyn blindly. There's nothing he wouldn't do for her."

"Why do you say that?" Dwayne asks startling all of us.

"Whatever she ever asked him to do, he did without as much as a second thought. He listens to her and believes everything she is telling. He even embraced her way of thinking."

"Which is?" Tobias asks.

"That the faction system should be abolished. Whenever she has the opportunity she tells all of the factionless how cruel and unjust the system is. That no one should have to live in factions. She also seems to have a grudge against Abnegation, although I have no clue as to why. The Abnegation are kind and helpful and ever since I've become factionless I realized how wrong Jeanine Matthews was about them. I wish I would have seen it sooner."

"Do you believe what Evelyn believes?" I ask.

"No. It is not the systems fault that I live factionless now. If I would have stayed and continued my initiation here maybe I would have made it and would be a member now, instead of living factionless. I followed Edward because I loved him and couldn't imagine my life without him. But now I don't even have him."

"Would you do something for us?" I ask her.

"What?"

"I know I said to stay away from Evelyn and her people, but would you return to the factionless sector and just lay low. Don't approach them, avoid Edward as much as you can and if necessary let them educate you about how wrong the system is. Just don't raise any suspicions."

"Why?" Dwayne asks and I can see Tobias had the same question on his mind.

"If Evelyn is really plotting something we need to know what it is. And we need someone inside to spy on them."

"We can't put her in danger" Tobias says pointing at Myra.

"Myra, this is your decision. You will still live factionless, we can't change that. But I can make sure to get some supplies to you. Winter is coming and you probably need warmer clothes and food."

"Tris, she would be in too much danger" Tobias argues.

"Four, we need to know more. Just because we know there is a plot we don't know anything else. What is it about? Who are they targeting? We need to know more before we can act."

"I can help you" Myra says.

"Are you sure?" Tobias asks her.

"Yes. I don't like what she made out of him. He was kind and generous and now he is cold and just ill-tempered all the time. We don't even speak to each other anymore" she says lowering her head.

"Alright" Tobias says. "Dwayne, please give me the antiserum." Tobias administers the antiserum and I offer Myra a glass of water. She drinks it eagerly and puts the glass on the coffee table.

"Here's what we need you to do" I say toward Myra. "You will return to the factionless sector where you will lay low. If you find something out let me know. Is there a place where you know for certain no one would follow you?"

"I sometimes wander back to Erudite but stay hidden. There's a park nearby where my parents used to take me when I was younger" she says after thinking for a bit.

"I know it. It's near Erudite HQ" I say and she nods. "There's an old willow tree with a hole in the trunk. I will hide a phone there for you. Do you know Morse Code?" I ask and she nods again. "Good. We will communicate like this. You will send me a text with the message SOS and give me a time and place to meet you. Same goes for me. Alright so far?"

"Yes."

"I will get another phone just for that. I will also make sure that after you send a text it will delete itself from its message history. So if anyone finds it on you, you can say you found it and just kept it. If they ask where tell them near Dauntless since we are the nearest faction to your sector. Best way to lie is to tell half truths" I say.

"Are you hungry?" Tobias asks her and she nods. He goes to my mini fridge and retrieves a sandwich which Myra gladly takes. I offer her a cup of tea to drown the dry sandwich and ask Dwayne to stay with her while Tobias and I go to his office. He opens his door and lets me enter first. I turn on the lights and sit on his couch waiting for him to sit next to me.

"How do you feel?" I ask him when he sits down and faces me.

"What do you mean?" he asks confused.

"About Evelyn."

"I don't know what to say. I mean it's no secret to me that she hates the system. I told you she wanted me to come live factionless with her."

"I meant Edward. How she seemed to have replaced you with him" I say hinting on the big elephant in the room.

"I don't know what to say about that. My mind is racing back to what Myra told us" he says looking at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"What exactly?"

"She said Edward is following Evelyn blindly. That he would do everything she would ask. Tris, what if she asked him to shoot Marcus?" he asks concerned.

"I thought we agreed Evelyn was innocent" I say.

"Just because she's saying she didn't do it doesn't mean she's telling the truth" he says.

"I know, honey. But I really don't believe she would put your freedom in jeopardy by sending someone who looks so much like you. I know what you are thinking. Myra said Evelyn keeps Edward close because he reminds her of you. But I was there when you confronted your mother. She seemed genuinely shocked."

"She's a good actress. She managed to fool the whole city, letting everyone believe that she died."

"Tobias, wasn't it your father who started the rumor?" I ask trying to make him see reason. I know he's more hurt than he wants to admit, even to himself. Again Evelyn chose someone else over him. But I don't believe she was behind Marcus's attack. At least not directly.

"She never did anything to clarify it either" he says angry getting up and pacing around.

"Honey" I say calmly getting up myself and approaching him. I put my hand on his arm and make him turn around to look at me. "I told you I was there when she confronted her people about the attack. I really don't believe she had anything to do with it. And don't let us get carried away. Just because she adopted Edward doesn't mean she doesn't love you."

"How can you say that?" he asks angry, pushing my hand away. "She abandoned me before…" he trails of. He sits back down on the couch and leans against the back.

"Tobias, I've told you many times that I neither understand nor forgive her for what she did to you. But she really seems to love you, in her own fucked up way" I say and he looks at me with a little smile.

"You know, you really swear a lot" he says with a chuckle.

"Only when I'm pissed. Let us think this through. Right now we are only making assumptions. We need more information to get a better picture of what's going on. Maybe what happened to Marcus is a completely different matter." Tobias opens his mouth to say something but I stop him by putting my index finger over his full lips. He kisses the tip and I smile. "Let us get to the bottom of this before we judge her too harsh. And even if I sound indifferent to what happened to Marcus, he is not a priority right now. Candor handles the investigation of his case. But no one investigates the factionless. I want to know more and Myra can help us with that."

"Don't you think she's in danger going back?" he asks.

"We can't keep her here. She's not a Dauntless member. We would go against many laws and it might cost us our leadership" I say and he looks at me shocked.

"I didn't know that" he says surprised.

"It's true. We are in a position to do some good here, but we can't if we are removed. I'm trying really hard to change things for the better, not just for Dauntless, but our whole city. But everyone is so wrapped around these archaic laws that no one dares to change or even challenge them. This is why I went to the Hub today to get some files on faction law. It will take a lot of time to make these changes but I hope in time I can accomplish them."

"We, sweetheart. I'm behind you one hundred percent" he says softly.

"Thank you. I'll tell you more about it later. Also, I'm going to try to project myself and do some recon of my own. But there's something else we could do, but only if you are okay with it, otherwise we'll drop it, alright?" He nods. "I would like to invite Evelyn to us. Before it was just for your sake, but now my motives have changed, I'll admit to that. If we could get closer to her, without making her suspect, we might be able to figure out what she's up to."

"What if she's planning something terrible, like Jeanine?" he asks.

"I'm going to ask you a few things and you have to promise me to answer truthfully. I won't get mad or even upset. I swear. But it's important to know where we're standing" I say and he nods.

"I promise. Go ahead."

"Are you afraid to get close to your mom because you fear she might leave again?" I ask boldly. He remains quiet for some time, thinking probably of what to say.

"A little bit."

"If it turns out that your mom is involved in something big against the city would you alert the authorities and let them arrest her?" Again he is taking his time to answer. I can see that he's already struggling with this.

"Yes."

"Imagine you and your mom reconcile. Would you still be able to do it?" I insist.

"I don't know" he answers, more truthful than I would have expected.

"If I would do it for you, would you hate me? And before you answer consider that you reconciled with your mother, you have a better relationship than ever and you really want her to stay in your life. Would you hate me if I would send your mother to jail?" He remains quiet. He looks away weighing what I'm asking before he turns his gaze to me.

"I honestly don't know. I love you more than anyone, you know that, but if there's ever a situation like the one you're describing than I don't know what I'll do" he answers.

"Thank you. I won't lie to you. If she's planning on doing something like Jeanine did I won't sit back and let her kill innocent people for whatever reason. I will turn her in. But I hope that this can work both ways."

"What do you mean?" he asks confused.

"If she really loves you the way she says and wants you in her life, maybe we can reason with her. I don't want anyone get hurt, including her. Whatever her sins may be, I don't wish her anything bad. She is your mother after all and I feel like I would wish you something bad if I do it to her. I want to know her, to understand her. But if you feel like it would be too much than we won't do it. I don't want you to get hurt anymore and I don't want to be the cause of it" I say with tears in my eyes.

"Please, don't cry, love. I know you don't want to hurt me. What you are asking is not something to dismiss. It would be a great opportunity to learn what she's up to. She always told me that the system is evil and should be abolished but I thought she was just angry because she was living factionless. I never listened to her, since it was her own fault she lived like this. During the past two years she often said that one day the faction system will collapse, that one faction will turn against another. And she was right. Erudite tried to destroy Abnegation. Maybe she's not entirely wrong." I look at Tobias stunned.

"Are you kidding me right now?" I ask a little upset with him.

"What?"

"It wasn't Erudite as a faction who planned to kill everyone in Abnegation. That was Jeanine Matthews and a few others. I do agree that times have changed since the inception of the faction system, but you can't erase over a hundred years by simply declaring no more factions. It won't work. Besides if you abolish one governmental system you need to replace it with something else. If it's better is up for debate. I also want to change the system, but slowly, without making too much fuss. People are used to the way they live, you can't just go and change that over night." I look at Tobias and he smiles. "What?"

"You are really cute when you get passionate about something" he says.

"Shut up" I say smacking his arm. He pulls me into his arms and kisses my crown.

"Maybe we should invite Evelyn to come and see us. I really want her to meet you."

"Let's wait just a little bit longer. Let's do it after the party when things calm down around here. Maybe we could invite her the weekend after the party?"

"Alright. I'll contact her that week and set something up."

"Great. Let's go back to our guest."

We leave his office, making sure it's safely locked and enter mine. Myra is sitting on the couch listening to one of Dwayne's stories.

"Tris, Four, thank you for listening to me" she says getting up. "I need to go now." We thank her for coming forth and go over the plan one more time. She agrees again and Dwayne escorts her out of the compound. Tobias and I leave the office and I lock it behind us. I suddenly feel very tired and yawn a few times while we climb the stairs to our apartment.

I barely manage to get into bed when I fall asleep. I'm so tired that I think I might sleep for a week to rest properly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What do you think about that Evelyn?


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Right now I don't have any chapter written ahead. But I still will do my best to keep my update schedule intact. In case i won't be able to do so, please be patient. I have a lot going on at work and it's really stressful. However, I will keep up with the long chapters. At least give you guys something to read :)

39

The next morning I wake up and find myself securely wrapped in Tobias's arms. He holds me tightly against his chest, his lips pressed to my neck. I can feel the steady rise and fall of his chest indicating his still fast asleep. I try to look at the clock on my nightstand, but I'm unable to move without waking him up. It's still dark outside, so it can't be too late. I decide to just lay there.

After a while Tobias starts to move and I think he's waking up, but it seems he is having a dream. He is tossing and turning now and all I can think of is to shake him awake to help him escape whatever is haunting him.

"Tobias, honey, wake up. It's just a dream" I softly say. When he doesn't react I shake a little harder. "Baby, wake up." He opens his eyes and looks around confused. When he finally meets my eyes he calms and smiles a strangled smile before wrapping me in his arms, like I might disappear if he doesn't keep me rooted. "Honey, it's okay. I'm here" I say, trying to calm him.

"You were gone. I looked for you everywhere, but you were gone" he says with an unsteady voice.

"Baby, I'm here. I'm not leaving. I promise. I love you so much I could never leave you" I say. I know he sometimes feels like I might leave him, like everyone else in his life, but I'm not. He needs to understand that. But fear is irrational.

"I love you, Tris. I couldn't live without you" he says shaking a little.

"Tobias, look me in the eyes" I say and he pulls away just enough for our eyes to meet again. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise. There is nowhere I'd rather be than here. And you are the only person I want to be with for the rest of my life. Tobias Eaton, you are the love of my life" I say with tears in my eyes. This is the first time I admit this, not just to him, but to myself as well. I somehow knew it for a while, but now it's real. He looks at me stunned for a second before he kisses me hungrily, like it might be our last kiss. When we pull apart we are both breathless and panting heavily. He rests his forehead on mine for a moment before looking at me with tears in his eyes.

"I'm so happy, Tris. I love you more than anything in this world, but I always feared that…" he doesn't finish because I know what he wanted to say. I shake my head at him and grab his right hand. I put it over my heart and place my hand over his.

"Tobias, can you feel this?" I ask and he nods. "Every beat, even before we met was for you. I didn't know why I was alive until I met you. I was always so different and I always felt that something important was missing. When our eyes locked for the first time my heart literally skipped a beat and started beating in sync with yours. Can you feel this?" I ask pointing at our hearts. He nods.

"They beat in sync? How?" he asks puzzled.

"I don't know. One night I couldn't fall asleep. You were having a nightmare and when I wanted to shake you awake I touched your chest and felt your heart. It was beating fast and I realized mine did that too for some reason. I held my right hand over your heart and my left over mine. They were beating in sync. I tried it out several other times, after making love or just being in each other's arms. Whenever one of us gets too excited for some reason the other one feels it too. I don't know how it's happening, but it is. You are part of me and I'm part of you. Nothing in this world will ever change that." He pulls me close to him and we kiss tenderly.

"I'm sorry for not believing more in you and your love for me" he says after we part.

"Do you always feel that way?" I ask apprehensive.

"Not really. I don't know what came over me" he says frustrated.

"I know." He raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Everything that happened yesterday opened up old wounds and you felt insecure, but honey no matter what happens my love for you will never change. I promise you."

"Neither will mine for you. I love you now and forever, Beatrice Prior" he sternly says before kissing me again, this time much more passionate than before. I pull back a little bit and wrap my arms securely around him, rocking him back and forth to calm him down. He needs to understand that I'm here and I won't go away.

"How about I make you some pancakes for breakfast?" I ask, still holding him tightly pressed against me.

"That'll be wonderful. Don't you want to take a shower first?" he asks with a smirk.

"Aren't you a wild one?" I ask grinning. I get out of bed and walk into our bathroom swaying my hips all the time. Tobias jumps out of bed running after me and scooping me up into his arms kissing me all over the face. I giggle uncontrollably and then he puts me back down. We undress each other and hop into the shower. We give in to this amazing feeling and make love twice, before we decide that our hunger for each other is somewhat stilled. We finish cleaning up and head downstairs where we make pancakes together. Well, I make them and Tobias prepares the whipped cream, the chocolate syrup and some strawberries. Our meal is soon ready and we eat the delicious breakfast feeding it to each other.

"That was delicious" Tobias says kissing my lips, his own still covered in syrup.

"Honey" I squeal "you make me all sticky." He wraps me in his arms and keeps kissing my lips, making sure not to get any syrup anywhere else.

"We need to go" Tobias says, but not letting me go.

"Do you have your meeting with Walsh again?" I ask and he nods. "I want to be included." He nods again. We go upstairs to brush our teeth before we head to work.

We walk hand in hand to Tobias's office where he dials Walsh's number and tells our accountant to meet us in Tobias's office. It doesn't take long and he arrives. We sit down at Tobias's desk, Tobias behind it and Walsh and I in front.

"Mr. Walsh, I've already briefed Tris about what you told me yesterday. Did you find out anything since then?" Tobias asks.

"Unfortunately, no. I can't understand how it's even possible. I checked with our Erudite liaison who is in charge of the computer program that distributes points. He couldn't find any flaw in the system" Walsh explains tired, no doubt trying to figure this out.

"Is there any reason to doubt the liaison's honesty?" Tobias asks.

"Not as far as I know. He was appointed to us five years ago and we never had one problem" Walsh says.

"What's his name?" I ask.

"Gregory Jenkins. Why?" he asks confused. I don't answer but get up and leave Tobias's office, leaving both men stunned behind me. I'm sure Tobias can mask his true feelings, but he probably wonders what got into me all of a sudden. I dial a number on my phone and wait for the other person to pick it up.

"Hello" I hear on the other side.

"Hello, Sam. It's Tris" I say.

"Oh, hello Tris" Sam's sweet voice says and I smile. For being the head of Erudite she sure is one sweet, happy person. Something like Amity. "How are you feeling?"

"Thanks for asking, I'm much better. I should be back in no time" I say.

"That's good. Don't get me wrong, your boyfriend is a fine young man, but we really missed you" she says.

"Yeah, he is. Don't worry, I'll be back before you can say Dauntless" I say with a chuckle.

"So, how can I help you?" she asks straight forward. I like that about her. No messing around.

"I would like to know if you have any information on our Erudite liaison for the financial department, a Mr. Gregory Jenkins?" I ask and wait for her to answer.

"I'll have to check" she says and I can hear her press some keys on her keyboard. It seems like forever until she speaks again. "Gregory Jenkins, 40 years old, Erudite born, wife Monica and two daughters, Helen and Myra. Liaison to Dauntless for five years, profession accountant and account programming. Why? What happened?"

"I just want to understand how the point system works, technically speaking. I want to know more about the program that distributes the points among the faction members. Would it be possible to have a meeting with him?" I ask hopeful.

"Of course. Do you want him to come to you or do you prefer coming to us?" she asks politely.

"I think it would be better if he could come to us. Both Four and I have several other meetings scheduled, but we could manage to meet with him, however brief. Could you arrange something?"

"Of course. I'll call him and then call you back to tell you if he can come or not."

"Thank you so much. That would be really helpful."

We both hang up and I dial mom's number. I wait for her to pick up.

"Hi, mom."  
"Hello Beatrice."

"Listen, I want to come by today. After lunch. Is it okay with you?"

"Of course. You are always welcome."

"I still have a lot of work to do. Can I call you when I leave the compound. I'm not entirely sure when exactly after lunch."

"It doesn't matter. We will do as much as we can today and maybe tomorrow you can come again" she says hopeful.

"That would be great. Thanks mom."

"You're welcome. See you later, my sweet girl. I love you."

"I love you too, mom." I hang up and my phone rings again. Sam.

"Hello Sam."

"Hello. I talked to Mr. Jenkins. He is on his way and should arrive within the next five minutes. He was already on his way, because he had something to discuss with your accountant."

"Thank you, Sam. I'm going to look out for him. Bye. And thanks again for your help."

"Any time. See you at the next council meeting and say hi to Four."

"I will. Bye."

I hang up and start walking outside to greet our Erudite liaison. I text Tobias telling him I will be back shortly with Mr. Jenkins, so that he doesn't worry about me.

I wait a couple of minutes until I see a car approaching the compound. I wait for it to stop and the person to get out. The Erudite man parks the car and opens his door. He steps outside and looks around. When he sees me he smiles a little than walks the short distance to greet me.

"Tris, I presume" he says.

"Yes. And you are Mr. Gregory Jenkins, right?" I say extending my hand and he shakes it.

"Yes. Ms. Daniels called me telling me that you were looking for me. How can I help you?"

"We should discuss this inside. Please, follow me" I say and lead the way to Tobias's office. I knock on the door and wait to be invited in. He doesn't disappoint and we walk inside. I introduce Mr. Jenkins to Tobias. I let Mr. Jenkins sit where I was sitting before standing behind Tobias.

"Sit down" he says to me, but I shake my head no. I'm way too anxious to sit down.

"It's fine. Thank you. Mr. Jenkins" I say looking toward our liaison. "I wanted you here to ask you a few questions. It's needless to say that what we discuss in this office stays in this office" I say and he nods his head. "It was brought to my attention earlier this month that some members received more points into their accounts than their job allowed. Also, yesterday Four and I were informed that small amounts of points are missing from the Dauntless main account. Could you explain to us how this is possible?" I watch Jenkins reaction, but he looks as perplexed as I was when I first learned about these occurrences.

"I honestly don't know what to say. The design isn't mine, but over the years I've studied and perfected it. I can't imagine how anyone could do this."

"How about you explain us the program?" Tobias suggests and Jenkins nods.

"The program was designed for one purpose only – to allocate the right amount of points to accounts. The program is used by all the factions and this is the first time I've heard about this problem."

"Could you be a bit more specific about the program?" I ask.

"Sure. The program was designed to stock thousands of files of information. Each member has a folder. Each folder contains specific information, such as job information – what kind of job the person has and how often the person works during a week. Based on the job the program accesses a general folder where all the jobs of the specific faction are stored. Each job comes with a certain amount of points. However, the program was designed to recognize anomalies, such as promotions or bonuses. The program is very complex and covers basically every possibility there is. To mess with the program one must have an extended knowledge in computer sciences and accounting."

"So, you are saying only someone with that kind of background could do it" I say.

"Attempt to do it, yes. It's very difficult. Even though each faction has its own program, the servers were the programs are running are in Erudite, because only we can fix and debug them" he explains further.

"Is it possible that we're talking about a malfunction of the program?" Tobias asks.

"I can't rule it out until I verify for myself. I'm not just the Dauntless liaison, but also head programmer of the accounting division."

"Could you please check, just to be sure it was a technical program?" I ask.

"Of course. Since when are funds missing?" he asks.

"Almost a year. I checked back every entry and exit for the past twelve months" Walsh speaks for the first time since Jenkins arrived.

"Alright. I will check the program right away, although given this information I doubt it's technical" Jenkins offers.

"I kind of figured that too" I say. "Mr. Jenkins, I know this isn't the norm, but given our recent common history I would like to ask you something."

"Of course, please, Tris" he says smiling a little.

"Would you consider answering a few of our questions under truth serum. I know that you went through something similar in Erudite, but obviously what I'm about to ask you is a little bit more specific. I won't hold it against you if you don't nor will I suggest your removal. I haven't heard one complaint about you" although I haven't really asked either.

"Uhm, yes, I guess that would be alright."I'm surprised a little that he accepted right away. I nod toward Tobias and he gets up to retrieve a vial of truth serum and administers it to Mr. Jenkins. This time I ask questions.

"Please state your name" I say.

"Gregory Jenkins" he answers quickly.

"How old are you?"

"40 years old, last month."

"What was your birth faction and which faction did you choose?"

"Born and chosen Erudite."

"Family?"

"A wife Monica and two daughters, Helen and Myra. Helen is fourteen and Myra is sixteen." A thought just crosses my mind. What if this man, Gregory Jenkins, is Myra's father. The same Myra we interrogated last night. Didn't she say her last name is Jenkins?

"Mr. Jenkins, did your daughter Myra by any chance choose Dauntless this summer?" I ask and see from the corner of my eye that Tobias made the same connection.

"Yes, she did. Is she okay?" he asks.

"Uhm, yeah. We'll talk about it later. Do you have anything against Dauntless?"

"No."

"No hard feelings at all? Your daughter left her birth faction to join ours."

"No. I do miss her and wish I could see her. I hoped that being the Erudite liaison I might see her here by accident, but since I last saw her in the summer during the Choosing Ceremony I haven't seen or heard from her. But as long as she's happy and well taken care of I'm happy. I know that you two changed this faction for the better and I'm glad that my little girl is safe and sound" he says and it breaks my heart. The poor man has absolutely no idea of what happened to his daughter. It will devastate him to learn of her fate.

"Did you ever commit a crime?"

"No."

"Are you tempted to commit a crime, especially of a financial nature?" I ask.

"No."

"Will you help us, as best as you can, find and bring the culprit to justice?"

"Yes. As long as I can help I will."

"Thank you, Mr. Jenkins. Four, would you please administer the antiserum" I say toward Tobias who does as told.

We wait for Mr. Jenkins to recover from the effects of the truth serum before we resume our conversation.

"Mr. Jenkins, I will let you coordinate with Mr. Walsh. No one beside the four of us are to know about what is currently going on" Tobias says.

"Of course, Four."

"If you find something out please schedule an appointment with either Mr. Walsh or myself" he adds. "If none of us is to be found contact Tris."

"I will. Is there anything else I can do or can I go check on the program?" Mr. Jenkins asks.

"Actually, there is something I want to talk to you about. It is about your daughter" I say and his face lightens up.

"Mr. Walsh, thank you for meeting us. As you can understand we need to talk to Mr. Jenkins in private now" Tobias says, leaving no room for argument.

"Of course, Four. I will continue my investigation and report back as soon as I find something. Have a nice day, Tris, Four" he greets us. "Gregory" he says nodding his head before leaving the office. I look toward Tobias and urge him to tell Jenkins about Myra. He sighs almost imperceptible but starts talking nevertheless.

"Mr. Jenkins, what I'm about to say to you is hard and I don't know where our working relationship will stand afterwards." Mr. Jenkins looks curious at Tobias but doesn't say anything. "As you may know, during the initiation period Dauntless had a different leadership, who didn't see things the way Tris and I do. They were cruel and unfair and pushed the initiates way beyond their limits and humanity. During stage one of initiation one of the initiates stabbed Edward, Myra's boyfriend in the eye" Tobias says and Mr. Jenkins gasps loudly.

"Oh my God, poor boy. I always liked him and was so relieved when he joined Dauntless alongside Myra. How is he?"

"Not very good. He was asked to leave the faction, because our former leaders considered him incapable of finishing initiation with just one eye. He lives factionless ever since."

"This is terrible. My poor girl must be devastated. I know it's against the rules, but could you make an exception just this one time and allow me to see her?" Jenkins asks hopeful.

"Unfortunately, we can't" Tobias says and Jenkins expression changes to a sad one. He looks down. "She chose to leave the faction when Edward was asked to leave. She's been living factionless as well" Tobias continues and Jenkins looks at him in shock.

"What?" he says very loud and stands up. Tobias glares at him and Jenkins backs down. I put my hand over Tobias's Amity tattoo telling him to be kind. He looks my way and sighs.

"There was nothing we could do. She chose to leave out of her own free will. We can't take her back, since she didn't go through the entire initiation process."

"This is terrible. All these months I thought she was safe here, happy, when she was out there somewhere in the city, alone, factionless."

"I know, Mr. Jenkins, I'm so sorry" I say.

"How could this have happened?" he asks, apparently no one in particular.

"The reason why we told you this is because we want to be honest with you" I tell him and he looks up, tears in his eyes.

"Thank you, Tris. You could have lied to me, but you didn't. I wish I could do something for my little girl. Isn't there any chance she could try at least next year?" he asks hopeful.

"No" Tobias says. "The rules are very strict."

"But I will try to help her" I say and both men look at me. "Mr. Jenkins, I can see that you love your daughter and I'm sure that whatever I tell you will stay between us" I say and he nods, Tobias looks at me skeptical. "I will try to help her as much as I can by giving her food and clothes. It's not against the law to offer old clothes and food to the factionless, even if you are not Abnegation. You could do the same, I checked the law on that matter" I say and Jenkins listens to every word I speak. "It won't be the same like living in a faction, but at least she will have warm clothes and food for the winter. And if I can I will try to facilitate a meeting between her and you, but it has to look random and that it was pure coincidence that you were both in the same place at the same time."

"You would do that?" he asks grabbing both my hands in his.

"I will try, but I can't make any promises" I say.

"Thank you so much. I don't know how to thank you" he says.

"Don't thank me yet. I haven't done anything" I say bashful.

"Oh, no. You did already more than you think. You told me the truth about my child and told me I could see and help her. Thank you. Whatever you need count on me" he says with a small smile.

"Alright. I'll see what I can do. I don't want to be insensitive, but could you please check the program. It's urgent" I say.

"Of course, I'll go right away. Here's my cell phone and my home number. You can call anytime" he says handing me his business card.

"Thank you, I'll save your numbers in my cell phone" I say.

"Here are our cell phone numbers" Tobias says handing him a piece of paper with both his and mine number.

"Thank you. I'll keep in touch. Goodbye" he says. He leaves Tobias's office leaving us alone.

"Are you sure of what you just promised?" he asks raising an eyebrow.

"If you recall it right I didn't promise anything. I will try though" I say.

"I don't want you to get in any trouble" he says wrapping his arms around me.

"I won't. Besides we need this" I say and he looks quizzically at me. "Think about it. We need Myra to keep her eyes and ears open in the factionless sector and we need someone we can trust to help us with our theft problem. I think it's a gift from heaven that both father and daughter are tied to us" I say.

"You know, you really scare me sometimes" he says and I look at him perplexed.

"Why?"

"You think about all these things at once. How can you keep your head clear and not go crazy?" he asks stroking my hair.

"I have a good method to unwind" I say with a wink.

"Is that so?" he asks grinning, getting my hint.

"Yeah, it is." We kiss leisurely for a while before I pull back. He pouts and I kiss it away. "We need to get some work done today."

"We have all day for that" he says tightening his grip on my small body, enough to keep me in place, but not to hurt me.

"You maybe. I have an appointment outside the compound later and need to get some stuff done before that" I say.

"What appointment?" he asks curious. I don't want to tell him what I'm up to, but I also don't want to lie to him.

"I'm meeting my mom. She's helping me with something" I whisper the last part and he nods. He probably thinks I'm talking about my gift. I'll clarify that next Monday during our romantic dinner.

"Alright. Say hi to her for me" he says and pauses, seemingly not knowing how to continue.

"And give her a kiss from you" I say and he looks stunned at me.

"How'd you know that I wanted to say that?" he asks.

"I know you and I know you love me mom just as much as she loves you" I say smiling.

"I do. She is just great. She was the first to accept me into your family and she treated me like a son ever since."

"I know and I'm so happy you all get along so well. Even the bonehead that is my brother seems to finally come around. By the way, when did you tell him and Cara to come to our place?" I ask.

"Saturday, if it's alright with you" he says.

"It is. I was just wondering if we should invite Christina and Will. I'm sure Will would love to spend some time with his sister" I say.

"Sure. Just invite them, but we need to plan something else to eat. Pizza won't do the trick if there are six instead of four people" he says.

"How about we make mini pizzas. You know, all kinds. Salami, cheese, mushrooms" I suggest. "We can also get a cake from the cafeteria and make some pudding."

"I'll get the cake" he offers.

"And I'll make the pudding. I'll try something out though so you might not like it" I say apprehensive.

"Whatever you make will be delicious. I don't know why you think you can't cook. Whenever you tried something out it tasted good, a bit salty but good" he says and I smack his arm.

"You could have said something. And it wasn't like I wasn't distracted" I say and he grins silly.

I kiss him goodbye and go to my office where I work until lunch time. Whoever things being a leader is a party is sooooooo wrong. It's actually really hard. You need to take into account everyone and make sound decisions and try to please everyone. Why did I accept this job again?


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Warning! Explicit language in this chapter.

40

Lunch was uneventful. I decide to take the train, since I haven't done that in a while. Tobias wants to protest, but I put my foot down. I love jumping the trains. It's so exhilarating and I feel more alive than ever.

I walk outside the compound and leisurely make my way to the tracks when I notice a figure approaching me. I turn around and look at the person and am surprised to see Evelyn Johnson, Tobias's mother. I wait for her to close the distance between us. I'm thinking of what to say to her. God, I want to tell her so much. Like, how could she abandon her child and leave him with an abusive father? But then I realize I officially don't know her. I can't just go and say what's on my mind. I need to be smart about my next move.

"You can't be here" I say as if she would be any other factionless.

"And who's going to stop me?" she asks mockingly.

"I will. I'm one of the Dauntless leaders" I reply and she tsks at me.

"I knew you looked familiar, Beatrice" she says spitting my name.

"It's Tris" I say coldly. "And who are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"The mother of the real Dauntless leader" she answers, I think with actual pride in her voice. Is she actually proud that her son is a Dauntless leader?

"Well, you're not my mother, which means you must be Four's" I say using the same mocking tone she does.

"His name is Tobias" she says angry.

"Not around here and if you would actually talk to your son you would know that" I say glaring at her.

"Listen to me, girl. I'm Tobias's mother."

"And I'm his girlfriend" I reply calmer than I thought possible. The calmness I'm displaying is deceiving, because inside me rages a storm.

"For now. He will soon find someone better, someone older, smarter. Someone that is better suited for a true leader" she says mocking me, while glorifying him.

"What's your problem anyways?" I ask, using a slight annoyed and bored tone now.

"You are my problem. Because of you my son forgot what we have been waiting for, what we have been planning and preparing for" she says annoyed.

"So, I'm responsible he has some kind of amnesia?" I ask aggravating her even more.

"Don't take that tone with me, Beatrice" she scolds.

"And you don't call me Beatrice. I'm Tris and by the way who the fuck do you think you are?"

"I'm a leader of men, unlike you" she says proud of herself.

"Give me a break. What the hell do you want? I've got better things to do than listen to you offending me" I say a little louder.

"Don't take that tone with me" she scolds again like she means something to me.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? You are not my mother. You can't tell me what to do" I yell at her.

"Maybe your mother should have put you in your place, than you wouldn't have interfered in other people's business" she yells back.

"Business? What business?" You crazy bitch.

"You had no right to ask Tobias to stay here" she points toward the compound. "Because of you he threw away his future" she says angry.

"What future? Living factionless? Are you kidding me? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm warning you now, Beatrice. Stay away from my son or I'll…" she says but gets interrupted when Tobias appears out of nowhere and stands protectively before me.

"Or what Evelyn?" he asks in his calm Four voice, that honestly gives me goose bumps.

"Tobias, can't you see she's destroying your future?" Evelyn asks in a calmer voice.

"What I'm seeing is that you keep insulting the woman I love" he says glaring at his mother.

"Woman? Don't make me laugh. She's a child. Underdeveloped, skinny, no visible feature that one might consider attractive" she says mocking me, which makes Tobias more angry than it does me.

"And yet, here I am loving her more than life itself" he says grabbing my hand in his and kissing the back of it.

"Tobias, please, I know you are a young man and you are infatuated, but she's just one girl. There will be plenty more in your life. Please, come with me. She is only temporary, I will always be permanent" she says sweetly, that it almost makes me puke.

"You mean permanent like the time you spend with me while I grew up?" he asks mockingly and hitting her where it hurts the most.

"That's not fair, Tobias" she says and takes the same scolding tone with him now.

"Of course, it's not fair. I wasn't the one who abandoned you with Marcus. It was the other way around. Listen, Evelyn, I'm tired of this. I already told you how things are. If you can't accept that I'm with Tris and that we are in love with each other, than there's nothing I can do for you. We will say goodbye here and now. Forever" he firmly says, leaving no room for any further argument.

"You can't do that. I'm your mother" she says exasperated.

"And Tris is the love of my life. I couldn't care less if you are in my life or not. She is the most important person in my life. She is permanent, not you." Evelyn gasps and takes a step back, unable to believe what she's hearing.

"You can't mean that" she says.

"I do. Neither you nor Marcus ever truly loved me, despite being my parents. All the two of you ever did for me was to hurt me one way or another. I had to flee my home to stay safe from my father. My own mother left me at my father's mercy when I was a mere boy. Don't come to me with this bull that you are my mother. Where were you all those years when I needed you? You are right, I haven't known Tris for long, but I already know her better than anyone. And she knows me better than anyone. We belong together and if you or anyone else can't see that then I'm sorry, but I'd rather die than not be with her. Have I made myself clear?" he practically yells at her, the calm Four long gone, replaced by the very wounded Tobias. I run my hand up and down his back trying to calm him down.

"How can you be so stupid?" Evelyn asks when she finds her voice again. "This little bitch is manipulating you. While you work hard here in the compound she's having fun with her lover" Evelyn says and it nearly knocks me down. Lover? What the hell is she talking about?

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Tobias asks exactly what I'm thinking. He actually uses the exact same words I'm thinking. Yeah, what the fuck?

"Don't you talk to me like that" Evelyn scolds him like he is a six year old.

"You don't get to tell me how to speak. And explain what you meant. Right now" he yells.

"I've seen her many times with him" she says smirking my way, as if she just revealed a secret. Only thing is, there's no secret. There's no lover. My only lover is Tobias.

"Really?" Tobias asks mockingly. I want to say something, but I'm not sure what. I'm so shocked by what I'm hearing that I can't formulate words.

"Yes, they often leave the Hub alone and talk and laugh with each other. Then he drives her around in his black sports car" she says looking my way as if she just caught me with my hand in the cookie jar.

Hang on. Black sports car? She means Jack. I can't help myself and burst out laughing. Tobias turns around to look at me, giving me a quizzical look, but I can't stop from laughing.

"What's so funny, girl?" Evelyn asks, clearly taken aback by my reaction. When I see the bewildered look on her face I laugh even harder. I manage to say "Jack" and Tobias understands why I'm laughing, although he might not find it as funny as I do.

"Is that all you've got, Evelyn? My girlfriend getting in the car of a friend of ours?" Tobias asks mockingly and Evelyn is a little shocked he dismisses her word so easily.

"You believe her before me?" she asks.

"Of course, I do. She, unlike you, never lied to me. Why wouldn't I believe her?"

"Besides if there would ever be a doubt about my honesty I could always go under truth serum. I'm not afraid" I say.

"I saw you with that man, Beatrice. You don't fool me" she says glaring at me.

"I'm not fooling anyone. But just for arguments sake, what did you think you saw that made you believe Jack and I are lovers? Did we make out or just a little peck on the lips? Or did we have sex in the car?" I ask boldly and blush at the last part. Tobias looks my way and grins for a split second before putting his Four mask back in place.

"You… you" she stutters a little, which I didn't think possible. "You were very friendly with each other."

"Someone, please, call the person who writes the dictionary. We have a new definition for lovers. People who are very friendly with each other" I say mockingly and Tobias gives me a look that says, knock it off.

"Jack Kang is one of Candor leaders and one of our closest friends. And just that you know Tris is like this with all our friends. That's no secret to me or anyone who knows her. She is just friendly. But she doesn't step over the line. She is respectful and more importantly loyal. Don't you ever dare badmouthing her ever again. She doesn't deserve that. Actually, since we are so honest with each other I should tell you that even after you called her so many bad things last time I saw you she still encouraged me to give you a chance. She actually wanted me to get close to you, for me to have a mother. But you are the one who pushes me away" Tobias says angry.

"She said that?" Evelyn asks in disbelief.

"You know, I'm still here" I say but both mother and son ignore me.

"Why would she want that? What would she gain?" Evelyn asks.

"Believe it or not she cares about me. She doesn't expect anything. She even told me she would take this crap from you only to see me happy. And trust me, she is incredibly patient with you. I saw her knock out people who did less and meant nothing to her" he says and I wonder why he would say such a big lie. I never did that. Nor would I do. I'm Dauntless not a troglodyte.

"I just don't understand what you see in her" Evelyn asks a little defeated.

"That's none of your business actually. But if you really need to know, she is everything I've ever hoped to be. Kind, generous, loving, respectful. She loves me unconditionally, she would move mountains to see me happy. I see that every day. She would put up with you and Marcus combined to either knock you both out or help us be the family we should have been. I don't need to tell her what I want, she already knows it. You know why? Because she never tried to change me to fit some twisted view she had of me. She accepted me the way I am, flawed and damaged and alone for that I will forever love her. You say she doesn't deserve me, but the truth is I don't deserve her."

"Tobias" I whisper his name "don't say that. You are not damaged. And we are both flawed, but together we are flawless. Evelyn, I really don't understand why you hate me so much. Tobias told me about your request and I must say I'm really surprised. I didn't want to get into this, but you leave me no choice. What kind of mother are you?" I ask and she looks at me shocked.

"How dare you speak to me like this?" she asks angry.

"I tell you how. You abandoned your son and left him at the mercy of his abusive father. You knew he was already hurting him when you left, don't deny it. Tobias told me everything. And then you pretend to be dead for seven years only to appear out of nowhere and ask your son, who by the way managed to rank first in one of the most brutal initiations in the city, to come and live factionless with you. What kind of mother does that? A bad one in my opinion. But I'm telling you what I've told Tobias countless times. If you really want to get closer to your son I won't stay in your way, that was never my intention. I even encourage it. And just that you know, I'm not looking for anything. I don't hope to gain anything. I just want him to be happy. Why can't you see that?"

"How can he be happy living in this sick system?" she asks, this time letting her guard down a little. She reminds me of Tobias right now. They both have the tendency to lock themselves away from hurt and pain.

"Honey, how about we go up to our apartment to continue this?" I ask Tobias who gives me a quizzical look but nods. I lead the way and Tobias and Evelyn follow me. I remember that I was about to jump the train to go to Abnegation. I pull out my phone from my back pocket and dial mom's number.

"Hi, mom" I say when she picks up.

"Hello, sweetie. Where are you?" she asks a little concerned.

"I called to tell you that it might be a little later than anticipated. Something came up and I need to take care of it first. Is it okay if I come a little later. I will probably get there by car" I say.

"Alright. Take care of yourself" my mom says.

"I will. I love you, mom."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

We hang up just in time as we arrive at the apartment. I put my phone back and pull my keys out. I unlock the door and let Evelyn enter first. I follow her and then Tobias enters and closes the door behind us. I offer Evelyn a seat on the couch and ask her if she wants something to drink. She declines.

"Maybe I should go" I say to Tobias.

"No, it was your idea inviting her here" he says.

"Yeah, but she's your mother. You need to talk. I mean really talk. And you don't need me here for that."

"No, please don't go" he says and gives me his puppy dog eyes. I nod and smile a little. We both sit down on the love seat and for a few minutes no one says anything.

"Alright, this isn't awkward at all" I say, trying to melt the ice, but it doesn't work. "Look Evelyn, I really don't get what you have against me" I say and she looks at me, but doesn't say anything. "Is it your real honest to God opinion that I'm not good enough for your son, because I'm younger and skinny and some other crap you said about me or is it something else? Be honest."

"You are young and I really believe my son could do better" she says sharply, but not as aggressive as before. "Tobias, I don't understand what happened. We had everything figured out" she says.

"What exactly had we figured out?" he asks.

"You said you wanted to come live factionless. You were sick and tired of the corrupt system" she says staring at him. "What changed?"

"She came into my life, I won't deny that. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her. I knew I could never leave her. But I didn't change my mind just because of her. The system wasn't so much corrupt as were the people in charge of the system. Both Tris and I are working really hard to make this faction a better place for everyone. In fact, Tris is doing her best to make the whole city a better place. Did you know that?" he asks his mother.

"I knew she is a council member" she says almost to herself.

"Did you know that she stands up to Marcus every chance she gets? And I don't know this from her. She actually avoided telling me these things, because she wanted to spare my feelings. I learned of her bravery when I had to take her place at the council meeting because she was sick. Everyone there praised her and even looks up to her. For being young she is very perceptive and helpful and has everyone's best interest at heart. She is the true leader here. Not me and certainly not you" he says and his mother opens her mouth to say something.

"Evelyn, I don't trust you and what I'm about to tell you will put my life in danger" I say and both mother and son look at me, Evelyn surprised and Tobias horrified. "I know your opinion about the system, at least what Tobias told me, and I have to agree." She looks at me stunned like I've said something so incredible that it must be a lie. "Most of the laws are archaic and can't be applied anymore. Also, the way people become factionless is arbitrary and most of the times wrong. I want to change that, but I can't do it over night. No one will accept such a change without repercussions. I talked to Tobias a lot about you and your views" I say and she looks toward him with disapproval.

"We don't have secrets. None whatsoever" he firmly says.

"That was a private conversation between you and me" she says angry.

"Stop, both" I say and they look at me. I don't want to get between them, but this is getting ridiculous. "I don't want to be a reason for you two to fight. Evelyn, what is your goal here?" I ask her boldly. She looks a little taken aback by my direct approach.

"I want my son back" she says looking at him. Tobias scoffs and I give him a dirty look. This is no time to start a fight again.

"That's great. Can you believe me when I say that I want that too? I want Tobias to have his mother, I really do. I will be honest, Tobias knows this already, but I need to tell you this as well. I will never understand or forgive what you did to him. And don't even try to explain or apologize, because there's nothing you could tell me that would make me understand or forgive" I say. "But if you truly want to make this work, Evelyn, I will do my part to help you and Tobias have a relationship again. I know he's denying it, but I know his yearning to have you in his life" I say and smile a little at Tobias. Evelyn turns to look at him.

"I do want to have a relationship with you" she says to him and Tobias looks at her.

"Me too, but I won't let you offend Tris any longer. She is the only reason I'm even sitting in the same room with you right now" he says furrowing his eyebrows.

"Listen, I really need to go somewhere. How about you two stay here and talk things through. Evelyn, you are more than welcome to stay as long as you want. As long as Tobias wants that, of course" I say and get up. I leave the apartment and head back to the tracks. It's still early and I really want to enjoy the train ride. I dial moms number and wait for her to answer her phone.

"Hello, sweetheart" she says.

"Hi, mom. I'm on my way to you. I'll take the train. I should be there in twenty minutes or so" I say.

"Alright. Be careful."

"I will." We hang up and I see the train approaching. I walk closer and when the train is close enough I start running. I hop onto it and push the button to open the door and slide inside. Unlike my previous train rides during summer I decide to close the door. I walk to the other side and sit down on the bench watching the scenery pass in front of me. I'm thinking back at Tobias and Evelyn. Wow, the nerve of that woman. She's messed up and yet I'm the bitch who keeps her son from her. Tobias, was right. She is lucky I didn't punch her.

I quickly approach Abnegation and get up from my seat to get ready to jump off. I push the button and the door opens. When the train slows down I take a few steps back then run as fast as I can and jump out. I manage to not fall over, but take a few steps forward to keep my balance. When I straighten up again I come face to face with Marcus Eaton. Son of a bitch. Wasn't it enough that I had to meet Evelyn today? Why God? Why do you hate me?

"Hello Beatrice" he says.

"For the millionth time, it's Tris" I say exasperated.

"No need to take this snippy tone, young lady" he scolds. What is wrong today? Why are Tobias's parents both scolding me? Is this a nightmare or did I step into a parallel universe where this is the norm?

"What do you want?" I ask coldly.

"Whatever happened to hello?" he asks.

"Committed suicide along with please and thank you" I bark back. He looks shocked for a moment, but dismisses it quickly.

"How is my son doing?" he asks as if nothing happened.

"He's awesome" I say smiling in an exaggerated way. Especially since he doesn't have to see you.

"I'm glad to hear that" he says.

"Anything else?" I ask wanting to get away.

"As a matter of fact, yes. What are you doing here?" he asks surprising me. As a faction leader I'm not as restricted as the rest, but it sure isn't the norm to march around a different faction. This is another thing the council should revise.

"None of your business" I say sharply.

"Oh, I think it is my business. You see, you don't belong here anymore. You chose Dauntless. Abnegation isn't your concern anymore" he says with a threatening tone, but keeping a straight face while speaking.

"Just in case you suffer from some sort of amnesia as a faction leader I can walk where ever the fuck I want" I say a little loud.

"It's not polite to swear" he scolds. I take a step forward and practically whisper in his ear.

"It's also not polite to beat your own son into a pulp and call it discipline" I say before I stomp off, leaving a speechless Marcus behind. I walk straight up to my parents house and knock on the door. I wait for mom to open the door and invite me in.

"Hello sweetheart" she says giving me a hug the moment the front door is closed and no one can see what is happening inside the house.

"Hi, mom. Sorry for delaying this" I say apologetically.

"No need to apologize, sweetheart. You are a leader and you are often needed. I'm used to it" she says hinting at my father's job.

"Still. Shall we start?" I ask and she nods. I take my coat off and hang it in the closet next to the door and then join mom in the kitchen.

"Today I'm going to teach you how to cook penne with herbs, tomatoes and peas. It's not complicated at all" she says and starts explaining while I take notes. When I've written everything down I start helping her preparing the food. While the pasta is cooking mom decides to teach me an entrée Tobias mentioned he once ate while growing up, when someone brought it over right after Evelyn "died". It's actually simple and it's called Eggplant Involtini.

"Where did you get the recipe?" I ask.

"I found it in an old cooking book in the library. I made it a few times since you and your brother left. I was sad and wanted to get my mind of the fact that my babies weren't here anymore" she says her eyes filling with tears.

"Oh, mom, please don't cry" I say hugging her tightly to me. We stay like this for a while before she pulls away, wiping her eyes. We return to our task and finish cooking, when we hear the front door open. We continue cooking, since dad always comes into the kitchen to greet mom. He is a little surprised to see me, but smiles and hugs me tightly to his chest.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

"Mom is teaching me some new dishes" I answer.

"How are you, dad?" I ask returning my attention to what I was doing when he came in.

"Not so good. I just saw Marcus who complained about your attitude and language" my dad says and I turn around curious to find out more.

"What did he say?" I ask trying to keep my cool.

"That you were impolite and rude and that it's not customary for a Dauntless member to wander the Abnegation sector" my dad says angry.

"You mad at me?" I ask apprehensive.

"No, sweetheart. I've seen your interactions with Marcus Eaton and I know how difficult he can be. However, I need to caution you. He is right, as a Dauntless member you can't just come here whenever you want" my dad says rubbing his hand up and down my arm.

"No, dad. You're wrong. I'm a leader and I am allowed to visit any faction as often as I want. It's in the faction bylaws. I checked, dad, thoroughly. I knew what I was getting into when I started this silent war with Marcus Eaton. If he dares accusing me of breaking the law I will break his stupid head with the Codex of Laws" I say angry and both my parents say my name in a scolding tone.

"Beatrice, I'm just worried about you. Marcus isn't one to take breaking the law lightly" my dad says.

"Huh, he is one to talk" I say mockingly and my dad glares at me. "Alright, I know. But the law is on my side on this matter."

"Still, be careful. Don't antagonize him. I never thought I would say this, but Marcus Eaton is dangerous" my dad says and I nod, knowing full well how dangerous. I've seen it in Tobias's fear landscape.

"I will."

I return to finish the meal while my dad goes upstairs to take a shower. Mom invites me to stay for supper, but I decline telling them that Tobias will probably wait for me. However, I take a bite from each dish to try it out. It's absolutely delicious and I'm sure Tobias will like it as well.

I say goodbye to my parents and make my way to the door when my dad stops me.

"What is it, dad?" I ask confused by his reaction.

"I'll walk you to the tracks" my dad says leaving no room for me to protest. I nod and hug my mom and kiss her goodbye.

Dad and I walk together to the tracks in complete silence. We pass the same looking Abnegation houses where everyone is enjoying a family supper. I have to admit I miss having meals with my family. Moments like these make me wish to be pregnant so that I can have this with Tobias, but then I think of how hard our lives would be and how much this would change us and our relationship. Next week I'll know more. I say goodbye to my dad and hop onto the train that will take me home to my love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What are your opinions on how Tris handled the situation with Evelyn?
> 
> Is a reconciliation between her and Tobias possible?
> 
> Will she come around and try to accept Tris?
> 
> What about Marcus? Will he create problems for Tris because she went to Abnegation?
> 
>  
> 
> And on a final note - INSURGENT in theaters tomorrow. YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> I've got my tickets. How about you guys? Can't wait to see the movie.
> 
> Till next time (Saturday).


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: First of all I saw "Insurgent" yesterday. It was a mind-blowing, ground-breaking, life-altering, reality-shattering blockbuster that surprised you at every turn. For those of you who haven't seen it yet - GO. What are you waiting for? You can read this later. GO! GO! GO!
> 
> i loved what the new director did. So many changes to the book, but we knew that already, and I thought maybe I won't like it, but it was so awesomely edited that it's just breathtaking. And obviously it lets me and probably you too believe that "Allegiant" might come with a plot twist. *crossed fingers* Those who read the books know what I mean.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy this new chapter. Today a little earlier than usual.

41

I hop off when the train slows down near the Dauntless compound. The whole train ride I kept thinking of Tobias and Evelyn. I wonder if she's still at our place and if they talked things through. I know I told Tobias it would be smart to keep her near to know her plans, but I really want him to have his mother back. I can't blame her for absolutely everything. Marcus is mainly to blame for the shit that happened between her and him and by extension to Tobias. I walk up the stairs to the apartment when my phone buzzes. I look at the caller ID and see that it's mom. I quickly answer it and hear mom's distressed breathing.

"Mom, what's going on?" I ask concerned.

"Beatrice, listen to me. Your father got into a fight with Marcus" she says breathing heavy.

"What? How? When? What happened?" I ask one question after the other.

"Just after you left. Your dad came back home and we were about to sit down to eat when someone knocked on our door. It was Marcus. He came back to tell us how inappropriate you behaved and that he can make sure to remove you from the council. That's when your father told him that he can't since he is no longer head of the city council. Marcus lost it and accused your father of being a backstabbing… person" mom says obviously censoring Marcus's words. "He punched your father and they started fighting. If it wouldn't have been for Jonah and Daniel who happened to pass our house and heard the yelling they would still be fighting" my mom tells me.

"Is dad alright?" I ask concerned for his health.

"Just a few bruises, but Marcus was taken to the hospital. One of his wounds opened and he started bleeding. Jonah and Daniel called an ambulance and went with him to make sure he will be alright. Your father went to Candor" mom says.

"What? Why?" I ask confused.

"He needs to testify and let them take him into custody until he can be interrogated" mom explains.

"That's absurd. He didn't do anything wrong. Marcus attacked him" I say outraged.

"True, but this still needs to be determined. I just called to let you know."

"How about you? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I will go tomorrow to Candor to visit your father" she says.

"I want to come as well, but can't we go now?"

"Unfortunately, no. Visiting hours are long over. Besides I think your father needs to calm down as well. I've never seen him like this. Marcus said a few hurtful things to your father, about being a bad friend and a liar and he also offended you" mom says, anger clear in her voice.

"I don't care what that dirt bag has to say about me, but it's outrages that he accuses dad of being a liar, when Marcus always lied to everyone about everything. I wish he would just die" I say angry.

"Beatrice, don't ever say that" my mom yells at me. I think it's the first time she does that.

"I'm sorry, but it's true. He is such a horrible person" I say frustrated.

"Beatrice, such thoughts are bad for you and your soul. You are better than this. You are better than Marcus, don't sink to his level" my mom says a little calmer than before. I take a deep breath and close my eyes.

"You are right, mom. I shouldn't have said that. It was stupid. I'm sorry. When do you want to go to Candor tomorrow?"

"As soon as I'm allowed to. Could you call your friend, Jack and ask him when it would be best to go" she asks me.

"Sure. I'll call him right away. Don't hang up, I'll call him into conference." I dial Jack's number and when he picks up I briefly tell him what happened and tell him that mom is also here.

"I'm sorry to hear about this, Mrs. Prior. I have the greatest respect for your husband. I will try and find out more about his situation" Jack says.

"Thank you, Mr. Kang" she says politely.

"Please, just call me Jack" he says.

"Then you call me Natalie" she replies.

"Alright, Natalie. I will check for the details and then text Tris all the information. I'm sure she will pass it to you" he says.

"Of course, I will. Thank you, Jack and sorry for interrupting your evening" I say before he hangs up.

"Please, call me as soon as you know something" mom says.

"Of course. Don't worry, mom. Everything will be fine."

"I know it will. I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too mom." We hang up and I continue my way up to the apartment. I get angrier with each step I take. By the time I'm in front of the door unlocking it I practically spit fire. I walk inside and see only the light on the end table turned on. Both Evelyn and Tobias seem to have gone. I slam the door behind me and curse loudly.

"Fucking son of a bitch" I yell at the top of my lungs. Tobias comes into the apartment from the balcony followed closely by Evelyn. They each have a glass of wine in their hands which means they must have talked a lot. I'm glad at least something went well today.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Tobias asks concerned putting his glass down on the end table and rushes over to wrap me in his arms. I start crying into his chest. I'm so frustrated that it is the only thing I can do right now. Tobias rubs a hand up and down my back to sooth me, but I can't calm down.

"Beatrice, what happened?" Evelyn asks, not just curious but also a little concerned. I don't know if it's genuine or if she's putting on a show for her son. I don't care at the moment.

"Marcus Eaton" I spit. Tobias pulls back a little, his usually dark blue eyes become black with anger.

"If that bastard laid one finger on you I will kill him" Tobias threatens.

"What did he do?" Evelyn asks, her interest clearly piqued.

"When I got to Abnegation I saw him and he was his usual self and I might have been rude. But that's not it. He went to my dad to complain about my behavior and he threatened to get me removed from the council. That's when my dad told him he had no right since he was no longer the head of the city council. Marcus lost it and punched dad. Dad punched him back and they would still be fighting if Jonah and Daniel wouldn't have separated them. During the fight one of Marcus's wounds opened and he had to be taken to the hospital while my dad went to Candor for questioning."

"Is Andrew alright?" Tobias asks.

"He's fine. Other than a few bruises he is in good shape, according to mom anyways. We will know more tomorrow when we're going to Candor to see him" I tell him.

"Come, sit down" he says and leads me to the couch. He goes to the kitchen to make a tea while Evelyn sits right next to me.

"I never thought I would live to see the day when Marcus will be revealed as the monster he truly is" Evelyn says somewhat triumphant. I look at her and she smiles a smile that gives me the creeps. "He was always so good in hiding this side of himself that I doubted anyone would ever believe me when I told them what a monster he is" she says.

"Well, it helps when you really piss him off" I say and she looks my way.

"You said he isn't the head of the council anymore. Who is instead?"

"My father. We voted and he was elected unanimously" I say. Tobias returns and hands me my tea. He always knows what I need. Except, right now I want him to hold me. I look up at him and he sits down behind me, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close to his chest.

"Andrew will be alright, don't worry" he says into my hair, kissing my head softly. I close my eyes for a moment and forget everything around me.

"We can't do anything until tomorrow" I say frustrated. I open my eyes and look at Evelyn who nurses her drink thinking about something. "How was your afternoon?" I ask. I really need a distraction.

"We talked" Tobias vaguely says.

"We decided to try to get closer to one another again, but we will have to do it hidden away. Faction rules don't allow us contact" she says a little angry.

"You can always come here" I say and try to smile. "I really want us to get to know each other. If you still hate me afterwards then at least you have a real reason" I say.

"I still don't like you. I think my son could do better" she says more honest than I thought.

"I still don't like you. But this is about someone we both love very much" I say and we both look at Tobias.

"Yes" she says in a genuine calm and motherly voice. "So Beatrice" she starts talking again and I turn to look at her. "Tobias tells me you are a pain in Marcus's ass" she directly says.

"Evelyn, I never said that" he says outraged.

"Well, I don't know about that. But on a scale from one to mortal enemy he is definitely somewhere very up. You are kind of in the middle. I hope you don't mind" I ask and she actually laughs at my joke.

"I never had the courage to stand up to him" she says seriously before taking a sip from her glass. "I should have been brave and face him all those years ago. I know I made mistakes, Tobias, and I will forever regret that I left you with him. I really believed he would stop hurting you when he saw that I left because of him. But he continued his way of life like nothing happened. He even told you that I died to hide the fact that I left him" she says bitter.

"Maybe I should leave you to talk" I say.

"No. We already talked about it" Tobias says keeping me firmly in place.

"I still don't like you, Beatrice and I still think Tobias would be better off with someone older than you" she stops talking and I can see that Tobias is currently glaring at her for her comment. "But I start to see why he likes you" she finishes with a small smile. "You are brave and you did something none of us had the courage to do. You stood up to Marcus and put him in his place."

"How many times, Evelyn? I don't just like her. I love her."

"How exactly did you know that I put him in his place?" I ask curious.

"I have my ways of finding out certain things" she says mysteriously.

"Did you eat anything?" Tobias asks me before kissing my temple.

"No, mom invited me to stay but I figured you might wait for me since we haven't decided otherwise. Have you?" I ask and he shakes his head no. "Evelyn, you wanna eat supper with us?" I ask her.

"I would love that. I haven't had a meal with my son in over nine years" she says.

"What sounds good?" Tobias asks, his mood a little lighter than before I left.

"I think we have some lasagna leftover in the fridge. It should be enough for the three of us" I say.

"Sounds good to me" Evelyn says. "Can I help you with anything?"

"No, thank you. You are a guest in our house" I say. She looks around and smiles a little.

"You have a nice apartment" she says and we both say "thank you" at the same time. We laugh at that and Tobias gives me a quick peck on the lips.

"Why don't you take a shower while I warm up the lasagna?" he asks and I take the hint to leave them alone.

I run upstairs and look for some comfortable clothes to change into before I walk into the bathroom. I take off my clothes and step into the shower. I let the warm water rinse the bad day away and I relax a little bit. This was one strange day. First the problem with the missing points. Then none other than Myra's father, Gregory Jenkins, is our Erudite liaison. Then we have Evelyn's sudden appearance and not to forget Marcus's attack on my father. Dad. He must be very lonely sitting in a Candor holding cell, which reminds me that Jack hasn't called back. I quickly finish in the shower and get out. I dry myself and change into the clothes I laid out. I put on my warm house shoes and walk downstairs to look for my phone, but I can't find it.

"Whatcha looking for?" Tobias asks not even looking my way. He knows me so well.

"Phone" I answer quickly.

"Kitchen island. It buzzed earlier" he says.

"Who was it?" I ask.

"Don't know. I'm not going to look through your messages if you're not here" he says turning around and placing the lasagna on the kitchen island.

"You know I don't have secrets. It was probably Jack. He promised to call me to tell me about dad" I say. I look at my text messages and find one from Jack. "I was right. He texted me. Dad is fine. We can go visit him between ten a.m. and noon. He will be interrogated at 12.30 p.m. I have to call mom" I say and want to go to the balcony, but Tobias runs after me and stands in front of the balcony door now. "What?"

"You just got better. I'm not letting you get sick again" he firmly says without raising his voice. From the corner of my eyes I see Evelyn smiling, but I'm not sure if it's because she is amused about our interaction or she is happy there are things we don't agree to.

"Fine. You win" I say dramatically.

I walk into the living room and I can hear Evelyn say "you are so adorable. I'm happy you became such a fine young man". I smile at that. He is more than fine. He is perfect. We tease each other, but always in good fun. I dial mom's number and wait for her to pick up.

"Hello Beatrice. Do you have news?" she asks right away.

"Yeah, mom. Jack texted me. We can visit dad between ten a.m. and noon and at 12.30 p.m. he will be interrogated. How about I come and get you at 9.30 a.m.?" I ask and she immediately agrees. "Do you have any news on Marcus?" I ask.

"Yes, Daniel called not too long ago. He is fine. He needed new stitches, but he's fine. The doctor's however decided to keep him over night, just to be on the safe side" she tells me.

"Alright, mom. See you then tomorrow at 9.30. Try to get some rest. I love you."

"I love you too. Tell Tobias I love him too. Good night, sweetheart."

"I will. Good night." We both hang up and I walk to the dining table where Tobias and his mother are waiting for me.

"How's your father, Beatrice?" Evelyn asks. What is wrong with Tris? Why can't no one in Tobias's family remember such a short name?

"I don't know. Our friend Jack only texted me to tell me he is fine and that we can visit him tomorrow morning before his interrogation. But until I see for myself that he's fine I won't believe it."

"Your father is a good man. I always respected him. Your mother is lucky to have such a good man at her side" she says.

"Thanks. I also asked about your father" I say turning toward Tobias who snorts.

"I don't want to know" Tobias says.

"He is still alive, in case anyone wonders" I say before taking a mouthful of lasagna.

"Too bad" Evelyn mutters under her breath.

"I know you shouldn't wish anyone's death, but sometimes that's exactly what I wish for him" Tobias says, both angry and hurt.

"Me too" Evelyn says.

"Me three" I say my mouth still full and both look at me. I swallow the rest quickly and ask "what?"

"I didn't think you would wish anyone's death" Evelyn says surprised.

"Don't tell my mom, but Marcus really deserves worse than that."

"Amin" Evelyn says and I smile.

"You know, maybe we can get along" I say and she looks at me. "I mean we have two men in our lives that we have in common. One that we love very much" I say and grab Tobias's hand "and one that we despise."

"You are right. I see it now" she says, but I'm not entirely convinced.

We finish eating our supper and when Evelyn gets up to go I ask Tobias to walk her out while I do the dishes. I clean everything up in the kitchen and head upstairs into the bedroom where I change into my PJ's. I get into bed and decide to read a little. I get my laptop from the night table and plug the thumb drive in. I open a file and start reading it when Tobias comes in.

"That was interesting" he says.

"It sure was" I say smiling up at him. "Did you talk things through with your mom?" I ask him.

"Yeah, but I'm still not convinced. She still might hide things from us" he says while changing into his PJ's.

"I know what you mean, but we started this. Let's hope she means it. I really want you to be happy" I say and he lies down next to me. I close the laptop and put it on my night table again. I turn to look at him and he wraps his arms around me.

"I'm always happy when I hold you in my arms" he softly says.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know. But if she is really honest about this then things will come around. It will take a while, but as long as she means it it'll work out."

"I hope so. I still don't like her very much" I say and he laughs lightly.

"I know. But the feeling is mutual" he says.

"Let's get some sleep. I foresee a long day tomorrow" I say sighing.

"Do you want me to come with you. I know it's a family matter and…"

"You are part of the family" I quickly say. "Do you have any appointments tomorrow?" I ask playing with the curls on his neck.

"No. Just office work" he answers and runs his finger over my cheek.

"Well then I would love you to come with me. I'm sure mom won't object. By the way, she says hi and told me to tell you that she loves you" I say smiling at him.

"I love her too. And I love your dad. Both your parents were so open to receive me into their family that I'm still trying to wrap my head around it" he says.

"It's not hard to love you. I mean I should know" I say jokingly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asks amused.

"Well they basically got to know Tobias, while I had the pleasure to meet Four at first. I had to burrow my way to your real self, while they got the super soft version of you right away. And even as Four I started loving you" I say and blush a little.

"So, are you loving Tobias or Four?" he asks serious.

"Both. It's the same person. I love the romantic Tobias that shows his soft side only when we are alone, but I also love the strong, fierce and a little scary Four who protects me against everything and everyone, albeit unnecessary most of the times."

"I just want you to be safe" he says furrowing his eyebrows. I caress his cheek and he leans into my touch.

"I know, baby. I want you to be safe too. Come on, let's sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day and I'm sure filled with a lot of drama" I say and snuggle into his chest.

"I think you are right. Good night, love" he whispers in my ear.

"Good night, honey." We kiss good night and I'm soon enveloped into a blissful slumber.

I find myself in the factionless sector. Not again. I walk around the place to figure out what is going on. Am I here because of Evelyn? I hear voices and turn around to see Evelyn with two men. One of them is Edward.

"Why did you go there?" Edward demands.

"First of all, loose the tone, boy" she tells him in a low but threatening voice. Huh, I guess that's were Tobias got this from. "Second, I went to see my son."

"You were there all day" the other man says.

"So? You knew I was going to try and fix my relationship with my son" she says nonchalantly.

"But he betrayed you. Our cause" Edward says.

"I know, but today I learned something that might be helpful" she says to both men.

"What?" the other man asks.

"It's too soon to discuss it, but I think we found another ally" she says smirking.

"You mean your son will help us overthrow the government?" Edward asks and I gasp. Is this what she's planning? Overthrow the government?

"I said it's too soon to discuss this. Especially here in the open" she says and they walk away. I follow them into a small room. If I wouldn't know better I would have never guessed that I'm in the factionless sector. The room is clean and cozy. A dark blue couch in the middle with two equally colored arm chairs on each side, a black-brown coffee table in front and a rather good looking brown rug with central floral design on the floor. Evelyn sits down in one of the chairs while Edward and the other man sit on the couch.

"Are you planning on letting your son in or are you trying to make sure he won't mess with our plans again" the unknown man asks.

"My son hasn't lost his way completely" she says grinning. "I'm sure he will be a great help when it will come down to it" she says. What? Is Tobias seriously considering this? No, that can't be true. Tobias couldn't betray me like this.

"What about the girl?" the man asks.

"What about her?" Evelyn asks.

"Will she be a problem?" Edward asks.

"If she will become a problem I will take care of it" Evelyn says.

"You don't have to. I will make sure to keep her silent" Edward says maliciously and I shudder involuntarily. Myra was right. He changed. A lot.

"You will not touch her" Evelyn yells and stands up startling all of us.

"Evelyn, if she becomes a problem I can take care of her. Trust me" Edward insists.

"She is my son's girlfriend. He would never forgive me if I would cause her pain" she firmly says.

"You don't have to be involved. Accidents happen" Edward insists.

"I said no. If anyone touches her he or she will die by my hand, have I made myself clear?" Evelyn asks furiously.

Both men nod, although they are confused. I suddenly feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around and see Tobias.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

"I don't know. I woke up and saw that you were having a nightmare. I tried to wake you up, but you didn't seem to register me at all. I wrapped you in my arms and tried to slow my heart rate. I thought maybe if I calm down then you might as well. But I must have fallen asleep" he says a little confused. He looks around and sees his mother sitting on the arm chair again and the two men on the couch. "Is this real?" he asks.

"Yes."

"So this is how it feels like when you project yourself" he says.

"Yes."

"Did you hear anything?" I ask straight forward.

"Not everything. But I heard the part where Edward threatens to kill you" he says angry and balls his fists. "I wish I was really here so that I could beat the lights out of him" Tobias says even angrier.

"Calm down. Did you hear Evelyn's response?" I ask and he nods. "What do you think?"

"I think she means it. While you were in Abnegation I talked to her, mostly about you. I made it clear to her that I won't go anywhere without you and if anything ever happens to you she will be my first suspect. I love you more than anything in this world and if she wants to be a part of my life than she needs to understand and accept that."

"Did you hear her say that you haven't lost your way?"

"No."

"What could she have meant?" I ask him, but before he can answer I wake up. I sit up in bed and look at him. He is also waking up, although it takes him a while longer. I look at the clock and read 6.30 a.m. Tobias stirs next to me and I look at him. He opens his eyes and blinks a few times to stay awake. He sits up and leans against the headboard.

"That was intense" he says and I nod. "Is it always like this for you?" I nod again. "I always wondered about that, but to be honest I admire your strength to get through this. I thought the fear landscapes are tough but this is a whole new level of tough" he says while caressing my cheek.

"You get used to it after a while. You wanna talk about it?" I ask and he nods. "Should we go downstairs? I can make some coffee" I say.

"What time is it?" he asks.

"6.30 a.m."

"Really?" he asks surprised. "I could have sworn it's earlier" he says looking at his own watch. "Yeah, let's get some coffee." We get out of bed and walk downstairs. Tobias turns on the two lamps on the end tables in the living room to offer us some light in the still dark room, while I carefully walk into the kitchen where I make some coffee. When it's done I pour two mugs of delicious refreshment and walk into the living room where Tobias currently sits on the couch and stares at a point in space.

"Here" I say offering him the hot beverage.

"Thank you" he says. I sit down next to him and he throws the fleece blanket we have over us to keep us warm. I snuggle close to him and sip at my coffee.

"You haven't answered my question yet" I say after a while.

"What question?"

"What could Evelyn have meant when she said you haven't lost your way?" I ask again.

"We talked about what she had in mind when she asked me to go live factionless with her. I told you that even two years ago she was convinced that the faction system will collapse sooner or later, she was just waiting for that to happen. It almost did when Erudite wanted to use the Dauntless to kill the Abnegation. That's why she was so angry with you and me. We even had a fight because of it. But I think she kind of changed her mind when you told her that you wanted to change the system to make it better for everyone, including the factionless."

"I meant it, Tobias. I thought if I shared something that made me vulnerable she would trust me at least enough to not constantly question my motives. You heard her. She was thinking of what I would gain if you and her would have a better relationship."

"She is really messed up" Tobias says.

"Who isn't? But I really want to believe that what she's doing is to win you back. You are her son and she does love you, in her own way. She made mistakes, but if she wants to atone for what she did this is her chance" I say.

"You are a wonderful person, did you know that?" he asks smiling down at me.

"No, I'm just trying to do the right thing." He leans down and kisses me gently.

"No, you are wonderful. I'm confident that Evelyn will see that soon enough." He pulls back and looks serious for a moment.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Edward. I don't want you to anywhere without me or an escort" he says.

"No way. I'm not a baby or a prisoner" I say and sit up.

"Tris, this is not up for debate" he firmly says without raising his voice.

"I don't care. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself" I say, not backing down. I know this will be a long discussion. He usually gives into me easily, except for when it puts my health or safety in jeopardy.

"Tris, please, be reasonable" he pleads.

"Tobias, I'm not a child. You trained me well. In fact, we could spar right now and I'll show you how much better I am" I say standing up and taking an attack stance. Tobias looks at me for a moment in shock before his gaze softens and he chuckles.

"I'm not going to fight you" he says and I sit back down.

"I know you are worried, but Evelyn warned him about harming me."

"That's not a guarantee he or anyone else won't try. I don't want them to even have the chance to harm you" he says looking at me with worry clear in his eyes.

"How about this? If I have to take trips into the city I'll either take the car or ask someone else to come with me. How's that sounding?"

"Better. I just want you to be safe."

"I know, baby. And I'll try not to worry you. Let's change the subject. This is getting really depressing" I say.

"You hungry?"

"A little bit."

"How about some scrambled eggs and bacon?"

"Sounds great. Come on, I'll help you."

We get off the couch and walk into the kitchen. Tobias turns on the light and we start preparing our breakfast. Tobias turns on the stereo and the smooth music fills the room. The eggs and bacon are soon ready and we sit down at the island enjoying our meal. We avoid talking, because I don't think any of us knows what to talk about. Yesterday's events are still fresh in my mind and I momentarily think of my dad in his holding cell in Candor. We finish eating and Tobias offers to clean up while I go upstairs to get ready for the day. It's still early and I decide to read a little more about the faction laws I've copied.

At nine a.m. Tobias and I leave the apartment, making sure we lock it behind us, and walk the short distance to the garage where the car is parked. We get in and Tobias drives off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Can't wait for your opinions.


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I forgot to post links for Evelyn's furniture in the previous chapter.
> 
> Evelyn’s living room – the arm chairs  
> http://www.amazon.com/Fantasy-Furniture-Roundy-Chair-Denim/dp/B00FLXBCS0/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1426754654&sr=8-9&keywords=blue+couch
> 
> Evelyn’s living room – the couch  
> http://www.amazon.com/Toddler-Flip-Sofa-Upholstery-Color/dp/B00N20JVZA/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1426754776&sr=8-21&keywords=dark+blue+couch
> 
> Evelyn’s living room – the coffee table  
> http://www.amazon.com/IKEA-Lack-Coffee-Table-Black/dp/B004ZHEB0O/ref=sr_1_1?s=furniture&ie=UTF8&qid=1426754792&sr=1-1&keywords=coffee+table
> 
> Evelyn’s living room – the rug  
> http://www.amazon.com/Contour-CON18-Rectangle-Multicolored-10-6-Feet/dp/B007LX6VIY/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&srs=4546243011&ie=UTF8&qid=1426754902&sr=1-4

42

The drive to Abnegation is silent and my mind jumps from my dad and his situation to Evelyn and her motives. We soon stop in front of my old house and I get out of the car, followed closely by Tobias. I knock on the front door and wait for mom to come out.

"Hello Beatrice, hello Four" my mom greets us. "Please, come in" she says and we enter the house. We take off our coats and mom puts them away in the small closet by the door.

"How are you, Natalie?" Tobias asks.

"I'm better, thank you for asking Tobias" she says smiling.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he asks.

"Your simple presence here is more than enough. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. You are family to me and I would do anything you ask me" he says.

"That's so sweet of you. We really consider you part of our family and I'm happy you are here."

"Did you call Caleb, mom?" I ask wondering if she did.

"Yes, he will be waiting for us at Candor."

"We should get going" Tobias says and both mom and I nod. We get our coats and walk out to the car, while mom gets ready. Tobias leans against the car and pulls me into his arms. We kiss softly without deepening it, before we hear mom clear her throat. I instantaneously turn a deep shade of red and get in the car to avoid looking at my mom. Tobias mumbles an apology and gets into the car as well, while I hear my mom chuckle. She gets into the backseat and we drive away, leaving Abnegation behind us. We remain silent the whole ride until we arrive at Candor. Caleb is already waiting for us in front of the building. Tobias parks the car and we get out to greet my brother.

"Hello sweetheart" my mom says to him and gives him a quick hug.

"Hello, mom" he says hugging her back.

"Hey, Caleb" I say and hug him when my mom let's go.

"Hello, Beatrice" he says. "Hello Four" he says and shakes Tobias's hand.

"Hello Caleb. Shall we?" Tobias asks and we all nod. We walk inside and are greeted by Jack.

"Morning Jack" I say smiling a little.

"Morning, rule book" Jack says jokingly.

"Stop calling me that" I whine.

"Nah, forget it. Once our rule book, always our rule book" he says and hugs me tightly. "I'm glad you're healthy again" he says after letting me go.

"Yeah, I'm glad that's over" I say.

"Mr. Kang, when can we see my husband?" mom asks from behind me.

"Right away. Please, follow me." We follow him to the elevator and I'm surprised when we walk down the hallway to Jack's office. He opens the door and allows us to enter first. When mom sees my dad she rushes to him and hugs him before pulling back and examining him thoroughly.

"I'm alright, Natalie" he says, making her stop.

"I was worried, dear" she says.

"I know. I'm sorry I put you through this" he says apologetically.

"Dad" I say and he turns to look my way.

"Beatrice, Caleb, Four, it's so good to see you all. I'm sorry for what happened" he says to Tobias.

"Andrew, please. There's no need to apologize. Tris told me what happened and you had every right to put that bastard in his place. He's lucky I wasn't there" Tobias says angry and I put my hand over his Amity tattoo to tell him to calm down.

"No, son, whatever the reason, fighting is not the answer" my dad says.

"Smooth, Mr. Prior, telling the two Dauntless leaders that" Jack says and mom smiles warmly at him. He's got a point. "I would have loved to see you punch Marcus" he adds.

"Me too" I say and both my parents look at me and I feel like a kid again who did something wrong.

"You know, dad" Caleb says "I always thought that if anyone from the Prior family would punch Marcus it would be Beatrice" and we laugh.

"To be honest, I thought that too" Jack says.

"Oh, where are my manners. Jack, this is my son Caleb. Caleb this is Jack Kang, one of Candor's leaders" my dad officially introduces them and they shake hands.

"You know, your sister was often close enough to punch Marcus. He has this habit of pissing her off" Jack tells my brother.

"Oh, shut up" I say and everyone except my dad and Jack look at me at the way I'm talking to a Candor leader. "Stop acting like I'm the only one" I say and punch his arm lightly.

"Four, you really need to tame your girl. She keeps punching me like I'm a punching bag" Jack acts all vulnerable.

"Beatrice, stop punching Jack. How many times do I have to tell you not to hit those who are weaker than you" my dad scolds in a mocking way.

"Hey, who's weak?" Jack asks offended by the label and we burst out laughing.

"Is this how you always interact?" Caleb asks stunned by our childish behavior.

"This is actually civilized" my dad says.

"No wonder Marcus hates us both" I say.

"Hey, that's all your fault. I got along with him pretty well until you little troublemaker came along" Jack says.

"Shut up" I say and punch him again.

"Did you see that? She did it again" Jack whines and my dad tries to keep a straight face.

"Beatrice, if you don't stop punching your friend I'll have to make you write It's not polite to punch my fellow council members" my dad says.

"How many times?" I ask tentatively.

"One hundred times" my dad answers.

"How about we make it five hundred and I kick his ass" I negotiate.

"Seems fair" my dad says.

"Hey, not fair. You're ganging up on me" Jack whines and addresses my mom. "Mrs. Prior, please do something."

"Andrew, Beatrice, it's not polite to negotiate a beating while your victim is in the same room" my mom says and Jack's eyes widen in shock. Mom is always good for a prank.

"Who are you people and what have you done to my family?" Caleb asks shocked.

"I think they ran away" Tobias says serious and we burst out laughing.

"Ah, that was fun" I say whipping a tear away.

"Yeah, I'll leave you hear to talk. I'll be back shortly before the interrogation starts" Jack says and I stop him before he leaves his office. I hug him tightly and thank him for what he's doing. "Don't worry about it" he says and leaves.

We sit down on the couch and the arm chairs in Jack's office and remain quiet for some time. I can tell that dad is keeping something from us, since he keeps avoiding looking at either me or Tobias.

"Dad, what's going on?" I ask and he looks curious at me.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"You are not telling me something. I know you well enough by now. So, what is it?" He closes his eyes and sighs. When he opens them he looks straight into mine.

"Marcus" he says and I patiently wait to hear more but he just keeps staring at me.

"Dad, I need a little more. I'm not a mind reader" I say a little irritated by his behavior.

"Beatrice, don't be rude" my mom scolds.

"I'm sorry, but dad is clearly hiding something. What is it? I can handle it" I say.

"When I walked back to the house after you jumped on the train I walked into Marcus again. He said he was just taking a walk but it seemed to me more like he was following us. He told me again that your behavior is outrageous and not proper, especially not for a faction leader. I told him that you had every right to be in Abnegation and he interrupted me by saying that the moment you chose Dauntless you betrayed our faction and lost all rights. I then got angry and told him to watch what he was saying. He continued his attack and said that he would make sure to have you removed from the council, since you are a troublemaker and more than one member complained about you. I asked for names, but he avoided answering my request. He said that I should put you in your place, before he has to do it" my dad says standing up now and clenching his fists.

"If that bastard dares to touch even one hair on Tris's head I will destroy him" Tobias growls, taking a similar stand as my father.

"Honey, don't talk like that" I say looking at Tobias who seems to lose his mind right now.

"I can't, Tris. That bastard threatened to hurt you. I won't let that happen" he vows.

"Don't worry. It won't come to that" my dad says and we turn to look at him.

"Dad, calm down. Marcus can't hurt me" I say.

"Yes, he can and he will" Tobias says.

"Don't worry. I might not be as big as him, but I've got Dauntless training and he doesn't."

"Don't take this lightly" Tobias says seriously.

"I don't understand why everyone is so scared of Marcus" Caleb says confused. He of course has no idea what kind of person Marcus really is and it's certainly not the time to discuss it.

"Suffice to say that Marcus Eaton is more than meets the eye" my dad says, practically telling Caleb to drop the questions.

"But how did you end up fighting?" I ask trying to get the full picture. Tobias wraps his arms around my small frame and I lean into him. He kisses the back of my head and I can feel his rapid breathing calming down.

"I tried to ignore him and started walking back home. He followed me and kept telling me that I couldn't ignore this problem. And if I, as your father, don't talk sense into you than he would as head of the council. That's when I told him that he wasn't in charge anymore. He completely lost it and accused me of being a backstabbing traitor and that I always support you and your crazy ideas."

"What a load of crap. You never once supported me, just for this reason. To avoid bias. And Marcus knows this" I yell.

"Calm down everyone" my mom says.

"I'm sorry, dear" my dad says apologetically.

"Yeah, sorry mom" I say.

"Maybe we should change the subject" Caleb suggests.

"That's a good idea" mom agrees.

"Caleb, I was wondering if you would like to meet Cara's brother" I say.

"Yes, that would be wonderful. Is there a way to meet him?" he asks curious.

"Yes. Since you and Cara are coming over for lunch on Saturday I can invite Will and his girlfriend Christina. But we have to keep it short since we have a party later that evening" I say.

"Party? What party?" Caleb asks.

"A Halloween party" I say grinning. "My first Halloween party."

"Oh, I remember them well. Those were wild parties" mom says and we look at her. "What? I did grow up in Dauntless" she says.

"Well, anyways. Chris and I need to get ready for the party, so we'll have to leave you guys sooner than originally thought" I say.

"Maybe you and Cara want to join the party" Tobias suggests.

"I would have to ask her if she would want that" Caleb says.

"Then call and ask her. That way Cara can get ready with us while you and the guys go somewhere else" I say.

"Why do we have to leave?" Tobias asks pouting.

"Cause we need more space and I want my costume to be a surprise" I say. "By the way did you get yours?" I ask.

"No. Not yet I promised Zeke I would go with him this afternoon" he says.

"Great. Caleb, what are you still doing here? Call Cara and ask her if she wants to party with us" I command. Caleb stands straight for a moment then pulls his phone out of his jacket and calls Cara. He leaves the office to talk in private while I return to talk to my parents. Caleb returns a few minutes later telling us that Cara would love to spend the evening with us.

We spend the next hour and a half talking about many things, especially about me and Caleb growing up. We successfully avoid the elephant in the room, which is dad's interrogation. Before we know it a knock is heard on the door and Jack pokes his head inside. We all get up and follow him to one of the interrogation rooms on the upper floors. The black, heavy doors swing open and we step into a indoor amphitheater. Dad is escorted by Jack to the middle of the room where he sits down on the lone chair. Mom, Caleb, Tobias and I sit down on the first row of benches, patiently waiting for this to start but more importantly to end. The room starts to fill and I look around and see several faction colors. Most of them are Candor, but there are also a few Amity, Erudite and a lot from Abnegation. Tobias and I are the only Dauntless in the room.

Jack talks to someone in a hushed voice and I can't shake the feeling this has something to do with dad and Marcus. The room starts to quiet down and Jack approaches dad, a syringe in his hand. He swaps my dad's neck with a sterile patch and inserts the needle. We wait a few minutes for the truth serum to activate and then Jack starts his questions.

"Please state your name" he says and my dad immediately answers.

"Andrew Prior."

"Faction of origin and chosen faction" Jack continues.

"Born Erudite and I chose Abnegation."

"Family?"

"A wife, Natalie Prior and two children, Beatrice and Caleb."

"Mr. Prior, please tell us what happened yesterday between you and Mr. Marcus Eaton."

"I was coming home from work when Marcus approached me. He told me he saw my daughter Beatrice wandering the sector even though she had no right."

"Why is that? Why wouldn't she have a right to walk the sector?" Jack asks to clarify for the audience, no doubt.

"Beatrice chose to leave the faction. She is Dauntless now. She is actually one of the Dauntless leaders" my dad says proud.

"Do you agree with Mr. Eaton, that your daughter had nothing to do in Abnegation?"

"No. I have to admit it isn't common, but it isn't a crime either. Beatrice, as a leader is allowed to visit another faction whenever and how often she pleases. She even pointed it out when I told her about my encounter with Marcus" my dad explains.

"And when was that?"

"Just after I left Marcus standing where he was. I went home and I was surprised to find my daughter there. When I told her about what Marcus said she got upset and told me that Marcus was wrong. She had the right to be there, no matter how much he dislikes it."

"When did your argument with Mr. Eaton escalate?"

"Right after I walked my daughter to the tracks where she took the train back home. I turned around and there he was. I think he followed us."

"Why do you think that?"

"It was a little odd that first Beatrice sees him, then he comes to me to tell me how inappropriate my daughter is behaving and then again when she leaves the faction."

"Is it fair to say that your daughter and Marcus don't see eye to eye?"

"Yes, it is. They have both very strong opinions on what is right and just."

"Could you please tell us how it happened that you punched Mr. Eaton?" Jack asks and we all gasp in shock. That's not what happened.

"I didn't punch him. He punched me. He was offending my daughter and I tried to reason with him. He threatened that if I wouldn't put her in her rightful place than he would and he would make sure to banish her from the council."

"Is it then when your altercation became physical?" Jack inquires.

"No. I told him he had no right to do that. When he argued he is the head of the council and he had every right I informed him that he held no longer that position and that I was in charge now he punched me and called me a backstabbing traitor" my dad tells his story.

"Have you taken the position of head of the council to steal it from Marcus and hurt him that way?"

"No. I was asked by the council. I wanted to refuse at first, but the council voted unanimously and I accepted the burden. I didn't steal anything" my dad says and I nod in agreement.

"Do you harbor any ill will against Marcus Eaton?"

"He is not my favorite person in the world, but no. As long as he stays away from my family, including Four, Beatrice's boyfriend, whom I love like a son, then I'll happily even forget Marcus Eaton exists."

"Thank you for your candor" Jack says and asks the person assisting him to bring him the antiserum. Jack administers the antiserum and soon my dad stands up and walks toward us. We all get up and mom wraps her arms around him for a brief moment, remembering Abnegation customs.

"What's going to happen now?" Caleb asks.

"I don't know. We should see if Jack might help us with that" dad says.

"I'll get him" Tobias says and leaves us. A few minutes later Tobias returns with Jack who smiles.

"I gather you have good news" I say.

"Yes, actually" Jack replies. "Mr. Prior, you are free to go. You did nothing wrong" he says.

"What about Marcus?" Tobias asks furrowing his eyebrows.

"He will be questioned, although I'm not sure if under truth serum, since he was injured and is under medication."

"That's it?" I ask disbelievingly.

"Nothing serious happened, Tris. Thankfully the fight was stopped before it escalated" Jack says.

"He threatened Tris" Tobias says and glares at Jack.

"Unless he actually tries to hurt her we can't just arrest him" Jack tries to explain but Tobias practically explodes.

"So are you expecting me to wait until that fucked up bastard hurts my girlfriend for you to do something?" Tobias shouts and the few people still in the room turn to look at us.

"Four, please" my mom says in a soothing voice while rubbing his arm. He turns to look at her and while still angry his gaze softens when their eyes meet. "Mr. Kang is right. We can't arrest someone or punish that person for something that didn't even happen."

"She's right, Four. If that would be the case I would have had to arrest several people over the years. Imagine how many times you were angry at someone and wished to punch that person. Would it be fair to arrest you just for that?" Jack asks and Tobias remains quiet. I understand the logic, but it doesn't take my anxiety away.

"Four, they are right. I'll watch my back more" I say.

"I want a bodyguard for you" he says.

"If you send someone to watch over me I'll kick you stupid" I say and he frowns. He knows that something like that will never happen. First because I love him and don't want to hurt him and second because even though I've trained a lot and improved my fighting skills I doubt I could take him down.

"See?" Jack asks. "That's what I mean. Should I arrest Tris right now for threatening to kick your ass?"

"Jack, I get what you say, but Marcus is dangerous" Tobias says.

"We will watch him and his behavior" my dad says. "If he even intents to hurt you he will suffer the consequences" he adds.

"Now I hope you meant according to the law" Jack says looking straight to my dad.

"Of course."

"Good."

We say goodbye to Jack and leave Candor headquarters. We head outside and walk to the car. Tobias offered to drive my parents home. They protested at first but he wouldn't hear it. Caleb however refused to come with us, since the walk to Erudite would help him clear his mind. We say goodbye and I remind him of our lunch on Saturday followed by the Halloween party.

The drive to Abnegation is almost completely silent and I think we all need a few minutes to reflect on the past events. Mom and dad thank us for the ride and then get out of the car. We drive back to Dauntless and I notice Tobias getting anxious by the minute. I tentatively place my left hand on his leg and he looks at me.

"Talk to me. What's bothering you?" I ask.

"You." I look at him surprised and he sighs before returning his eyes to the road. "Marcus threatened you and you don't seem to care." It's my turn to sigh.

"I care. But we can't kill ourselves over this. I know how dangerous he can be, but I'm Dauntless, I've trained hard to be able to defend myself. Look, if it makes you feel better I even get a bodyguard" I say and he looks at me surprised.

"Really?" he asks, disbelief clear in his voice.

"But only if I go out. I mean out of the compound. I'm not going to walk around Dauntless with a babysitter" I say. He frowns. If it were up to him I would be attached to his hip 24/7 to make sure I'm safe, but that ain't gonna happen.

"Alright. But you need to be more careful" he cautions.

"I will be" I reassure him.

Tobias drives into the garage and parks the car in our usual parking spot. We get out and we both walk up to his office. We still have a few things to discuss, but we also need to be available for the Dauntless. We can't just hide in our apartment forever. When we get there he unlocks the door and allows me to enter first. I walk to the couch and sit down waiting for him to join me. He takes a seat right next to me and looks at me for a moment before he sighs.

"Sometimes I think we're walking from one crisis to another" he says and I think for a moment about what he's implying. He's right. Ever since the rankings were announced one shit happened after the other.

"We'll manage all of them" I say reassuringly, but also firmly believing it.

"How can you be so sure?" he asks, a little smile on his face.

"Because we are FourTris" I say and he laughs.

"What's come over you?"

"It's what our friends are calling us. Don't you remember?" I ask and he thinks for a moment before he nods.

"I know you are concerned" I say being all serious now. "I promise I will watch my back and I will take someone with me when I go out of the compound, but you also need to trust that I can take care of myself also" I say and he watches me for a moment before closing his eyes, assessing the situation.

"I know you are capable to take care of yourself. The initiation training is meant to prepare all new members for worst case scenario. But I can't help but worry. I always worry about you. You are the most important person in my life and I don't want you to get hurt" he says.

"I know, honey. I feel just the same about you" I say caressing his cheek. He leans into my touch and closes his eyes.

"Maybe we should talk about our visit last night" he says. I nod. We really should talk. What happened was highly unusual and I don't really know how it happened.

"You start."

"Maybe you should start since I wasn't there from the beginning" he says. He's got a point.

"Alright. When I got there Evelyn was talking to Edward and that other man. They both wanted to know why she was gone for so long and she said she was with you, trying to mend your relationship. Then they wanted to know if you are trustworthy and she said that she might have found someone that could be an ally. The men inquired if you changed your mind about the faction system and she said you haven't lost your way completely. When Edward asked about my involvement and if I might be a problem Evelyn only said that she could handle me. Edward offered to take care of the problem, if necessary, but Evelyn refused to hear of it and threatened him. She said that no one should lay a finger on me or you would never forgive her. I could see that this didn't sit well with the two men, but none argued. Then you appeared. Tobias, what did she mean by you haven't lost your way?"

"It means I talked a lot with her. Like before, I told her that I don't like everything about the system, but I wouldn't go so far as to destroy it, especially since what she has in mind isn't quite a solution either."

"What do you mean?" I ask curiously.

"Well, think about it. She wants to destroy the system and evidently take the power from the council, but what would she put in its place? Every regime has a beginning and an end, but to replace one you need another one. The question is: is the second regime better or worse than the first?"

"I understand. Did she mention what exactly she had in mind after taking down the government, cause that's where this is leading, right?"

"She wasn't specific, but I would bet my last dime that she wants to be in charge and change the city according to her own twisted views. This is why she approached me almost two years ago, she wanted me to come live with her, but when I refused she asked me to spy on the faction leaders, which I did I have to admit. But not necessarily because she asked me to, but because I wanted to see if she was right. She was, by the way. Her plan was to somehow gain control over the Dauntless so that they join the factionless and attack the council, bringing down the government."

"So basically she planned something similar to Jeanine" I say and he gives an almost imperceptible nod. "Is this still her plan?" I ask wondering if something might have changed, especially after she witnessed how we took Jeanine and her minions down.

"I honestly don't know. She wasn't very forthcoming. We only talked about us and you. She was very interested to understand why I would pick you over anyone else" he says. I look shyly away. I often wonder the same thing. Tobias places his left index finger under my chin and turns my head to look into my eyes. "I know what you are thinking, Tris. I love you and that will never change. There's no one else for me but you. We had this discussion before" he says sighing.

"I know. I know that you love me just as much as I love you, but I sometimes feel like this is just a dream and I might wake up with the memory of it but realize it wasn't real. I don't know if I could handle that" I say.

"You don't have to find out. I'm real and I love you with all my heart." He places a soft, tender kiss on my lips to seal his vow and I wrap my arms around his neck, wanting to feel him closer to me. He pulls me into his lap and we deepen our kiss, not wanting to let go of each other quite yet. When we finally part I look into his beautiful dark blue eyes and I smile.

"I'm sorry I'm being so silly" I say bashfully.

"It's okay. If it helps you, sometimes I feel just as insecure as you do. But then you hold me in your arms and I know I'm the one you have chosen and I'm grateful that I met you. My life would be so meaningless without you" he says honestly.

"Maybe we should work a little before the waterfall starts" I say half jokingly.

"Maybe" he says before kissing me again. "As for Evelyn, we should keep her close for now. If it turns out that she's been playing us I won't forgive her and I will never even look at her. I want to give her this chance. But it's the final one" he resolutely says.

"Whatever you decide, Tobias, I'm right behind you" I say. I give him another quick kiss and then I get up. I tell him I would work in my office and he only nods. I leave him behind and decide on how to occupy my time for the rest of my business day. I know. The faction bylaws.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What will happen to/with Marcus now that he is no longer head of the city council? Will he go after Tris? Or Andrew?
> 
> What about Tobias's outer body experience?
> 
> What did Evelyn mean when she talked about an ally? Is she counting on Tobias to help her bring down the system?
> 
> And what will Edward do? Follow Evelyn's instructions and leave Tris unharmed or will he go behind her back and eliminate our favorite heroine?
> 
> I'm waiting for your comments and opinions.
> 
> Until next time.


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A little lemon in this one.

43

The rest of the week passed quickly. Evelyn visited us on Friday and stayed for dinner. We had actually a good time and I could see that both mother and son tried to make this work. However, Evelyn kept asking me about my job on the council and how I was planning on changing faction law. I kept giving her evasive answers, for once I have no clue what she's up to and then there's always the thing that I myself have no idea what I'm going to do. When it got late Tobias offered to drive her home, but she refused, on the grounds that she didn't want him to get in trouble. He only escorted her out of the compound and waited with her by the tracks, hidden from the cameras, for the train to arrive and her to jump on. He soon returned to the apartment and I could see he was torn between being happy he had a somewhat normal relationship with his mother and the fact he couldn't completely trust her. I didn't insist on finding out more. He knows I'm here for him when he decides to open up.

Saturday morning is one of my favorite mornings of the week. Even though it's always possible to be called to some emergency leader thing I still enjoy it nevertheless. I turn around and find that Tobias's side is empty and has been for a while judging by the cold sheets and pillow. I get up and slip into my fuzzy slippers and walk downstairs where I can already smell the mesmerizing scent of freshly made coffee. I try to make no sound while walking down the stairs to surprise him.

"You should really focus more on your loud breathing than your footsteps" he says while pouring coffee in my mug, never even turning his head to look at me. Damn.

"How did you do that?" I ask in awe.

"I know you. I know you try this every time I get up before you. I also heard you wake up. You are really noisy in the morning. Also I could smell your scent" he says finally turning around and laughing when he sees me sniff my armpit.

"One of these days…" I say and walk over to him to grab my mug, but he keeps it from me. I pout and he laughs again. "What's so funny?" I ask still pouting and trying to reach for my mug, which he now holds over his head so that I can't grab it.

"If you want your coffee you need to trade it in" he says with a devil's grin. Oh, really?

"Alright. What do you want?" I ask all business.

"You know what I want" he grins sexy at me. Oh, two can play this game.

"Alright" I say. I take a step closer to him and stand on my tip toes but before I connect our lips I kneel down on the floor and pull his pants, including boxer briefs with me. His sharp intake of air hits me right between my thighs, but I shake it. I'm on a mission. He messed with the wrong Dauntless.

I watch his erect manhood stand in front of me and I smile sultry at the sight in front of me. I envelope his shaft with my right hand and start stroking him gently. I feel him tense up and I look up at him. He lowered his hand which was holding the coffee mug and put it on the kitchen island before him. His eyes are closed and his breathing erratic. I stroke him several more times before I lick my lips preparing myself for the next move. I open my mouth a little and place an open-mouthed kiss on the tip. A shudder travels through his muscled body and I smile at myself. It still amazes me that I'm the reason he feels so much pleasure. I let go of his member and start trailing sloppy kisses along his length until I get to his testicles. I take them into my mouth and suck on them and I can hear how difficult it becomes for him to breathe properly. I let them go and lick my way up his length until I reach the tip again. I kiss it and then take it in my mouth as much as I can. I start sucking it and try to accommodate as much of his girth as I can, compensating for the rest with my hand. I increase my speed and I feel him writhing, but I ignore it continuing to love him with my mouth, tongue and hand. I suck harder and move my hand faster over his enlarged manhood until he tenses up and I feel him spill his seed deep within my throat and he yells out my name. I swallow his load and release him from my mouth with a loud "pop". I wipe my mouth and stand up again. He has his eyes still closed and I smirk. I grab my mug and sip the delicious hot beverage, although I'm so awake right now, I wouldn't need any of it. He slowly opens his eyes and looks at me, a mesmerizing smile splitting his face in two.

"That was amazing, Tris" he breathlessly says, before bending down and pulling his underwear and pants back up.

"Uhum" I say before taking another sip from my coffee. He smiles at me.

"You know, when I said trade I meant a kiss, actually" he says, picking up his own mug and drinking from it. I play confused.

"Huh, my mistake" I say with a straight face. "Should we try it again?"

"Don't challenge me" he says in a husky voice. He is aroused, I can both see and hear it in his voice. We have so much to do before Cara and Caleb come over. We don't really have time for that sort of morning activity.

"Alright. But later tonight you are all mine" I say and snuggle close to him. He snakes his left arm around my waist keeping me close.

"You can bet your sexy ass" he says and I giggle.

"Okay, let's eat something and then start to get this place in shape before our guests arrive" I say.

"What sounds good?" he ask kissing my temple.

"How about some waffles?"

"Waffles, coming up" he says and prepares everything to make them.

We don't waste too much time on breakfast and start cleaning the place. By eleven a.m. we are done and we start cooking. We decided to make some spaghetti with meat balls and tomato and basil sauce and for dessert a strawberry and banana cake. We agreed to not cook too much since the party will start at five p.m. and we will all eat in the cafeteria a hearty meal, followed by Dauntless cake. Besides I still want to fit into my costume.

When everything is cooking I go upstairs to take a quick shower and change, Tobias looks over the food. I'm in and out of the shower in five minutes and proceed to dry my hair. Cutting my hair was a smart move. It dries much quicker and I look absolutely Dauntless with it. I use some hair mousse to shape it the way I like it and then apply some light make-up. Eyeliner and a pink lip balm should suffice. I'm sure once we need to get ready for the party Christina will force some extreme makeover on me. I chuckle at that thought. I leave the bathroom completely naked and enter my bedroom. I walk to the dresser and retrieve a black lace bra and some black lace shorts. I'm pondering over what outfit to choose. I decide on a black short sleeve, knee high dress and my three inches tall boots. I think for a moment if I should put on pantyhose, since I will stay in door, but maybe I want to go on the balcony and then I'll literally freeze my ass off. I put them on. Besides I don't need another lecture from Mr. I-Never-Get-Sick. I finish up and rush downstairs to allow Tobias to get ready as well.

"Wow, you look beautiful" he says and I blush lightly at the compliment.

"Thank you" I say kissing his lips softly. "Go get ready. I'll finish up here" I say and he sprints upstairs to take his shower. I check our meal when I hear a knock on our door. A quick check on my watch tells me it's already noon. I walk the short distance to the front door and open it to find Will and Christina standing there, both smiling a little nervous. I can only imagine it's because of Cara. Will is probably anxious to see his sister again, while Christina must be nervous to meet someone from his family. I let them in and they both sit down on the couch in the living room. I offer them a cup of coffee which both accept happily. I excuse myself and return to the kitchen to check if everything is ready. Tobias soon comes down looking more handsome than ever in a pair of black fabric pants and a dark grey button down shirt. He greets our guests and joins me in the kitchen. He kisses my temple before hugging me from behind.

"You look delicious" he says in a husky voice.

"Honey, stop. We can't" I whisper and glance over my shoulder toward the living room where Christina and Will are currently making out. So much for restraint. Tobias turns his head a little and sees the same thing.

"They don't seem to care" he says seductively.

"Tobias, please. We both know it won't stop here" I say and he chuckles. A knock on the door makes him growl and he lets go of me. He starts to walk to the door when he turns around and says "Saved by the knock on the door" and smirks.

I return to the meal and laugh to myself. Oh, he's going to pay for this later. I hear the front door open and by the voices that are now sounding through the apartment I can tell my brother and his girlfriend have arrived. Tobias leads them into the living room where Cara hugs her brother tightly and Tobias introduces Caleb to Christina and then the rest of them exchange cordial "hellos" and "nice to meet you". When the meal is done I take it off the stove and walk into the living room to greet our new arrivals.

"Hello Cara, hello Caleb" I say. I hug both and sit down on Tobias's leg on the ottoman, while Cara and Caleb sit on the love seat.

"It's so good to see you again" Cara says to her brother.

"Likewise. So, you are my sister's boyfriend" Will says to Caleb.

"That I am" Caleb says.

"You should know that if you hurt my sister I will break you" Will says very serious. Caleb swallows hard and glances my way.

"Will, you should know Caleb is my brother. Same goes for your sister. If she hurts him I will kick her ass and yours" I say trying my best Four impersonation.

"Why mine?" Will asks shocked.

"Cause obviously I won't hit her hard, she's Erudite after all. But you are Dauntless and you can take a beating" I say and I can feel Tobias turning his head and stifle a laugh.

"Are you always settling your disputes using violence?" Cara asks shocked.

"Yes" we all say at the same time and laugh.

"Well, sis, we are Dauntless after all" Will says.

"Besides you don't want to mess with Tris. She ranked first and has some wicked moves that leave you on your ass" Christina says with a wink. I glare at her because the guys have no idea about that. Fortunately, both Tobias and Will dismiss the comment thinking she meant initiation.

"How about we sit down and have lunch?" Tobias suggests and we get up. Tobias was kind enough to set the table and helps me bring in the food.

We sit down and enjoy our meal having small talk. When we're done Christina helps me clean up while Tobias brings in the strawberry and banana cake. He waits for us to return to the dining table and cuts the cake handing the first two pieces to Cara and Caleb, then hands Christina a plate, followed by Will and then he cuts a slice for me and one for him. We enjoy the delicious treat and drink a cup of steaming coffee. It's almost two p.m. when we return to the living room. It's still early to get ready and we decide to play a game.

"How about Candor or Dauntless?" Christina suggests.

"We don't want to make them run for their lives" I say and both Cara and Caleb look at us with dread.

"How about Pictionary?" Will suggests. "We used to play it when we were little" he says.

"Do you know the game?" Cara asks.

"I don't" I say.

"Stiff" Christina says jokingly.

"Oh, shut up. How do you play it?" I ask.

"We play teams. We can play for instance girls versus boys or couples. Or just randomly pick two teams. One person looks at a picture and has to describe it without saying the name of the object" Cara explains. "The team who guesses the object first wins the round."

"But we don't have the game" I say.

"We do" Christina says and gets up. She leaves the apartment probably to go retrieve the game from her apartment. Hang on. Did she just say "we do"? Does that mean what I think it means? I make a mental note to ask her later when we are alone.

"Okay. Until Christina comes back how about we form teams. Do you guys want to play guys versus girls or couples?" Will asks.

"How about couples?" Cara asks.

"Wanna see which couple rocks this game?" Will asks his sister with a smirk. Cara grins and nods.

"Alright. You guys wanna drink something?" I ask.

"Some coffee" Caleb says.

"I would like a tea" Cara says.

"What kind? We have chamomile, peppermint and a fruit selection" I say.

"Fruit, please."

"Will?" I ask him and he asks for water. When I walk into the kitchen to prepare the tea pot I hear Christina return and walk back into the living room to ask her what she wants. She asks for a orange juice and I ask Tobias to come and help me. While the others set up the game I decide to use my ability. After all Tobias once suggested this.

"We're so going to win this" I say in my mind. Tobias looks at me and smirks. Oh, yeah. We're going to wipe the floor with them.

"Ready, baby?" Tobias asks placing his hands on my hips and pressing himself to me.

"If you mean the game then yes. If you mean something else, we can't" I say a little frustrated.

"I wish we would be alone right now" he says in a husky voice. He is really turning me on right now.

"And what would you do?" I ask looking up at him giving him a sultry look. He groans and looks deeply into my eyes that I feel like he's piercing right through me.

"I would rip off your clothes and take you right here on the kitchen island" he says in a low, masculine voice.

"Honey, please, you're killing me" I whine. He kisses my temple and lets go of me. He helps me with the beverages, taking the tray with the tea and coffee mugs, while I get the rest. We sit back down on the ottoman and I realize there's a white board in front of the TV. "What's up with that?" I ask pointing toward the board.

"You look at the picture and you have to draw things on it that describes your picture, because you can't say the name of it out loud" Cara explains. I nod in understanding. "Okay, who wants to go first?" she asks.

"How about you? You already know the game" Tobias suggests and she nods. Cara gets up and picks up a card looks at it and places it back on the coffee table, face down. She goes to the board and starts drawing. We all look at what she's doing trying to figure out what it is she's describing.

"The sun" Caleb says and Cara shakes her head.

"A ball" Christina says and Cara shakes her head again. Will and Tobias try to guess too but none of them gets it. Then it hits me.

"Ferris Wheel" I say and Cara smiles. "Yes. One point for team FourTris" I say jumping up.

"FourTris?" Caleb asks surprised.

"Their couple name" Christina says and Will chuckles. Tobias only rolls his eyes, but smiles.

"Alright. Your turn Tris" Cara says and hands me the marker and sits down. I pick up a card and look at it. A present. I turn around and start drawing. I don't tell Tobias in my mind what it is since we are currently ahead and a present shouldn't be hard to guess. I finish my drawing and turn around. Christina is the first to shout out the word "present" and we all laugh at her outburst. Our game continues for another two hours before Tobias suggests we should start getting ready.

"Alright. Who wins?" Will asks. Cara counts the points and looks up surprised.

"What?" Caleb asks.

"Four and Tris win" she says, surprise still evident in her voice. I look up at Tobias who smiles a cocky grin at me. During the game we used my ability to our advantage and managed to get ahead. We high five and I kiss him quickly on the lips before he runs upstairs to get his costume.

"Come on, Caleb. We guys will get dressed at my place while the girls get ready here" Will says. "Chris, do you have your costume?" he asks her.

"No. It's at home. I'll wait for Four to come down and then we'll come together" she says. Will and Caleb leave and Cara asks for the bathroom. I show her the bathroom downstairs and while she's gone I turn to look at Christina.

"Chris?" I say and she turns to look my way.

"Yeah?"

"Is it possible that you and Will are living together?" I ask her and she smiles shyly.

"It's not official, but yes. We were thinking about it for a while and decided it is time for us" she says with a happy look on her face. I'm unable to ask more since Tobias comes running down the stairs.

"Ugh" I say exasperated. "You had to come down" I say and he raises an eyebrow.

"Tris, I'll tell you later" Christina says and walks to the door. "Come on, Four. Will took Caleb to his apartment to get ready. I'm heading there too to get mine" she says.

"Did I do something?" Tobias asks. I close my eyes and sigh.

"No, honey. I was just about to find something out from Christina when you came down. I'll have to wait a little while longer" I say and look into his beautiful eyes. "I'm sorry for making a scene. I love you." He bends down and kisses me.

"It's okay. I'm used to my fiery girlfriend, if you know what I mean" he says and grins. He runs out of my reach before I can do or say anything. I just shake my head and start cleaning up the living room. Cara soon joins me and together we manage to clean this place up in half the time. We sit down on the couch talking leisurely until Christina comes back.

"You guys ready?" she asks sitting down on the love seat.

"Yes" we both say at the same time.

Christina looks over what we each are going to wear. Cara decided on a baby-blue princess dress, while Christina went with a black and gold Cleopatra dress. I myself decided on a burlesque dress like I saw in one of the books in the library. I even went to look for it right after I found out about Halloween and the annual party. I asked the Dauntless tailor to make me one for this occasion. It is a soft pink corset with rhinestones and a matching feather skirt. I also bought some soft pink three inch shoes to match the outfit. Christina starts to fuss over Cara and me, moving from one to the other. She first takes care of Cara's hair, which is a beautiful chestnut brown but very long. She pins it up with a baby-blue ribbon and uses barrettes to keep everything in place before she moves on to me. She decides that for my outfit it wouldn't be necessary to do anything special since the costume itself is very shiny. She brushes my hair thoroughly and sprays it with hair spray to make sure it will stay like this all night, even while I sweat from all the dancing. She then does something similar to her hair but tells me she will wear a golden crown with a cobra on it. I remember that we saw a movie once with this Cleopatra character and she was wearing something like this on her head. After finishing with our hair Christina looks over each costume and then into her make-up box to decide on appropriate colors and shades for each girl. This time I go first. She decides on a fairly natural look but gives me fake eyelashes and makes me put on a fiery red lipstick. I have to admit I look smoking hot. Tobias will love this. While Christina does Cara's make-up I go into the bathroom to change into my costume. It's shorter than I imagined, but I'm also wearing pantyhose and don't feel as exposed as the costume would suggest. I put on my shoes and walk out. Christina just finished Cara's make-up when both girls turn to look at me.

"Wow, Tris. You look hot" Christina says, her mouth hanging open.

"Thank you" I say and blush a little.

"Yes, Tris, you look really good" Cara agrees.

"Thank you. You guys look great already. I can't wait to see you in your costumes" I say. Cara gets up from her seat on the kitchen stool where Christina put the make-up on and walks into the bathroom to put her dress on. I watch Christina as she expertly applies one thing after the other and I wonder how she's managing to remember when to use what.

"Four will go nuts when he sees you like this" she says, never taking her eyes off the mirror in front of her.

"That's the idea" I boldly say. "So, you and Will" I say and she still looks into the mirror, but smirks.

"Yeah, we decided it is time to try it out. I mean, we already spent all our time together. If it's not at my place it's his. Why use two spaces and not one? We want to give it a try, but we still want to keep both apartments in case we decide it was too soon" she explains.

"I think that's a good idea" I say.

"How did you know you were ready to live with Four?" she asks me, forgetting the mirror and turning to look my way.

"I realized one night that I never want to wake up without him. I feel safe and happy when he holds me" I confess.

"Especially after sex" she says grinning.

"Christina!" I say outraged and turn to look at the closed bathroom door, afraid my brother's girlfriend might overhear us.

"What? It's not like I don't know" she says returning her attention to the mirror.

"Still. And it's not like that. Well, yeah, obviously after that too, but some nights I'm just glad he is there to hold me when I'm tired or sad or frustrated about something."

"I understand. I feel the same about Will" she says and gets off the bar stool. "Can I use your bathroom to get dressed?" she asks and I nod.

"While you're getting ready I'll put these away" I say pointing toward the make-up she brought.

"Alright, thanks."

I clean up and wait for the girls to come back. Cara is the first to return and I have to admit she is a real beauty. My brother is one lucky fellow to have such a beautiful girlfriend.

"You look beautiful, Cara" I say.

"Thank you. You really think so?" she asks shyly and I realize I might not be the only one who has a hard time seeing herself as pretty or sexy.

"Of course I do." Then Christina comes down the stairs in her Cleopatra dress and we both look her up and down and make her spin around to get a better look.

"Wow, Christina, this is one hell of a dress" Cara says.

"Yes, really Dauntless if you ask me" I say and Christina actually blushes at the compliments.

"Thank you both. But I think you are more Dauntless than I am" she says pointing at my mini skirt and I blush a deeper shade of red than before.

"The guys should be here soon" Cara says.

"Which reminds me. I forgot my phone upstairs. I'll be right back" I say and walk up the stairs and go into my bedroom. I hear the front door and know it's the guys. I can hear Caleb and Will compliment their girlfriends and even Tobias tells them they look beautiful. I grab my phone and walk back downstairs. Tobias is in the kitchen drinking a glass of water, but the others are gone. They probably went ahead to the cafeteria. When Tobias turns around he is still drinking from his glass and when he sees me he spits the water he was just drinking all over the kitchen island. I try hard not to laugh and walk over to him. He is still rooted in place and watches my every move while I take a kitchen towel and clean up the mess he made. When he finally recovers his voice (and the rest of his senses) he puts his glass down, snakes his left arm around my waist, holds my head with his right hand and kisses me with so much hunger and passion that I think he will actually devour me. This move of his ignites a burning desire between my thighs and I wrap my arms around his neck and torso and pull him impossibly closer to me. He picks me up and sits me on the kitchen island, his lips never leaving mine, kissing me even more savagely than before. When we can't breathe anymore we part and draw in much needed air, our eyes lock and our arms are tangled around each other.

"You look so fucking hot that I almost came when I saw you" he says and I blush a deep shade of red.

"Tobias" I say smacking his arm playfully.

"It's true, baby. Where did you get this outfit?" he asks pulling away a little to examine my costume properly.

"I saw it in a book once. I went to the library and borrowed that book and then went to the tailor here and voila this is my Halloween outfit" I say smiling. He looks me up and down and shakes his head no. I furrow my eyebrows at him and he frowns.

"I can't let you wear this in public" he says.

"What? What are you talking about?" I ask confused.

"Baby, you look to hot to go out like this. You will give every man outside a heart attack" he says seriously.

"Oh, come on."

"I mean it. I'm going to have to fight them off all night to keep them from hitting on you" he says.

"Baby, come on. Everybody knows you are my boyfriend. No one will even dare to look at me" I say and he shakes his head.

"They might fear me, but they won't be able to take their eyes off of you."

"Well, I don't care. I love you and you alone. I'm yours. Forever" I say.

"Promise?" he asks with a sexy grin.

"Cross my heart and hope to die" I say.

"I love you too, sweetheart. But there's another problem" he says and I frown. What now?

"I don't know if I can go out" he says and points toward the bulge in his pants. I chuckle.

"If you behave now I will let you have your way with me later" I whisper in his ear and he shudders.

"Woman, stop" he groans. I laugh a little and jump of the island. I look him over to assess what he is supposed to be.

"Are you a pirate?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"I'm the greatest pirate, savy?" he says and I laugh.

"Come on, honey. We don't want to be late. We are leaders after all" I say and grab his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I've seen Insurgent Four times. Guess why? :) How many times have you watched it?
> 
> What do you think of Tris's outfit? Or Cara's? Or Christina's? Do they suit each girl?
> 
> Here are the links for the girls costumes.
> 
> 1\. Cara’s Halloween dress  
> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/497507090060032500/
> 
> 2\. Christina’s Halloween dress  
> http://www.yandy.com/Cleo-Costume.php
> 
> 3\. Tris’s Halloween dress  
> http://www.yandy.com/Deluxe-Burlesque-Ballerina-Costume.php


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Lemon in this chapter!

44

We walk into the cafeteria and for once this place looks like a rainbow exploded in here. So many colors and costumes and everyone seems to enjoy this evening. We walk past several Dauntless members and all of them compliment me on my outfit, some even whistle and Tobias gives them a dirty look. We manage to get to our table where all our friends, including Caleb and Cara are currently engaged in a conversation.

"Hi guys" Tobias says and they all look at him.

"God damn, man" Zeke says, his mouth hanging open. "If Tris sees you with this hot chick she will break you into a million pieces" he says and I blush crimson.

"Wow, Tris, you look amazing" Marlene says to me.

"Thank you, Marlene. I love your outfit. Fairy?"

"Yes" she answers and I look around the table to inspect the other costumes. Shauna wears a ninja outfit, Lynn dressed up like a zombie, Will is dressed like a mummy (figures),Caleb is dressed like a knight in shining armor and Uriah, I think, is dressed up as a scientist.

"Uri, are you supposed to be Erudite?" I ask chuckling.

"Why indeed that was the purpose of my disguise" he answers and we laugh at his response.

"What are you supposed to be?" Tobias asks Zeke raising an eyebrow and I have to admit I was wondering too.

"He's a caveman" Will says.

"So, basically his usual self but with less clothes" Shauna adds and we laugh.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Zeke asks offended.

"It means, shut up and bring me my food" Shauna yells at him over the noise the crowd of Dauntless makes. Zeke gets up and walks to get some food for her.

"You want something to eat?" Tobias asks me. I nod. He gets up and stands in line to get us some food. It doesn't take him long and he returns together with Zeke and places a plate in front of me. It looks delicious. He brought us each a steak with fried potatoes, some vegetables and each a glass of sparkling cider. Even though we both drink alcohol we find it is more exciting to be sober. Also, if I am pregnant I don't want to hurt my baby.

For the next hour or so we eat and drink and talk to our friends about the silliest stories each of us can come up with. After eating the delicious Dauntless cake, Uriah ate three slices by the way, we go to the Pit where the Haunted House is set up. We walk inside and I grab Tobias's hand in mine and we start the haunted adventure. The girls and the workers who build this did a terrific job. It's both fun and scary, but more importantly very exciting. Behind every corner lurks a monster, of course it's a disguised Dauntless, but still. We encounter mummies, vampires, zombies, swamp monster and even the Meadow Killer makes an appearance. There's even a "room" that looks like any other preteen room and a calendar that says "No vacation. Ever". Some of the more brave Dauntless preteens entered the Haunted House and obviously got the shock of their lives when they read that. I have to chuckle. This must be very scary for some. When we finally exit the Haunted House we walk down the path to the night club. The corridors in the Pit were all decorated last night after everyone went to sleep to surprise the faction in the morning. As we approach the club I can hear loud music and I suddenly feel butterflies in my stomach. I squeeze Tobias's hand and he looks down at me with a questioning look on his face. I stand on my tip toes and whisper "I'm nervous".

"Why?" he asks.

"It's so new and exciting. I don't know. I just am" I say. He smiles and pulls me close to him.

"You will love this" he says. We walk inside and find a couch to sit. The DJ plays all kinds of songs from rhythmic to slow, from group orientated dances to couple. Tobias and I dance to all of the romantic ones and even a few others, but mostly I dance with the girls. Sometime close to midnight the DJ announces a karaoke hour and I look perplexed at my friends since I have no idea what that is.

"You get to sing songs and the audience is rating you" Shauna explains.

"What? You have to sing in front of everyone?" I ask stunned.

"Yes. It's going to be fun" Marlene says and gets up.

"Where is she going?" I ask.

"To sign up" Lynn says and when I give her a puzzled look she adds. "You need to sign up and then the DJ calls you to the stage to sing."

One by one almost all of my friends get up to sign up. Even Caleb got up. I can only assume he and Cara will sing together. The karaoke thing starts and several Dauntless gather on the stage singing and dancing and even though they sound terrible they seem to have a lot of fun.

Marlene is next and she sings a beautiful ballad, followed by Uriah and Zeke who rap. Shauna and I just laugh at their childish behavior. The guys return and Cara and Caleb are next. I was right. They will sing something together. The song they chose is a beautiful ballad that I used to listen to when I was younger. Even though it wasn't very Abnegation of me, music was always something that I enjoyed, along with writing. When the final tone dies down the crowd starts to applaud their performance.

"And next we have a special treat for you" the DJ says walking on stage. "One of our beloved leaders will perform next" he says and the entire crowd cheers and stomps their feet. I look toward Tobias and he shakes his head. "Tris" the DJ says and a spot light hits me right in the face. Oh no. This isn't happening. I look around panicked and I see someone approaching me. It's Caleb.

"You did this" I yell at him. He only grins and nods his head a little. I shake my head no, refusing to get up and humiliate myself.

"Come on, sis. Aren't you Dauntless?" Caleb asks and the Dauntless start cheering "Tris."

"Come on, Tris, get your ass up there" Shauna says.

"Yeah, you can't be worse than Zeke and Uri" Lynn adds eliciting an offended "hey" from both men.

"Be brave, honey" Tobias whispers in my ear and I shudder at the intimate touch. I tentatively get up and walk slowly to the stage. I know that the crowd is loud but I can't hear anything passed the blood rush in my ears. I somehow walk up on stage and grab the microphone. The DJ looks at me and moves his lips but I can't hear him.

"What?" I ask when he looks quizzically at me.

"I said, what song are you going to perform?" he asks smiling.

"Oh, you have anything from a singer called Etta James?" I ask and he nods. We walk over to his station where he lets me pick out the song I like. I walk to the center of the stage and see a purple screen light up and the first lyrics appear. The song starts and I know it's my cue to start singing but I can't. I'm frozen in place. The song stops and I turn around to look at the DJ and he mouths "you can do this". I turn back, close my eyes and wait for the song to start again. I keep my eyes still shut when the melody begins and I start to sing.

Oh, sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah

The crowd stopped cheering and the room fell silent. I still keep my eyes closed.

I get a feeling that I never, never, never, never had before no, no. And I just gotta tell you right now that I, I believe, I really do believe that

Something's got a hold on me yeah

"Oh, it must be love" I hear in the background, no doubt a recording.

Oh, something's got a hold on me right now, child

"Oh, it must be love."

Let me tell you now, I got a feeling, I feel so strange, everything about me seems to have changed. Step by step I got a brand new walk, I even sound sweeter when I talk.

I said oh, whoa, oh, oh. I said baby, oh, it must be love.

"You know it must be love."

I open my eyes and look at the crowd. They are still silent listening to me. I try to find Tobias and smile when our eyes finally lock. I start singing again.

Let me tell you now, something's got a hold on me, yeah.

"Oh, it must be love."

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, something's got a hold on me right now, child.

"Oh, it must be love."

Let me tell you now, I've never felt like this before, something's got a hold on me and won't let go. Believe I'd die if I only could, I sure feel strange but it sure feels good. I said oh, oh, oh, oh, I said, baby, oh, it must be love.

"You know it must be love."

I decide to do something bold. I start to walk off the stage, the microphone still in my hand and I start walking through the crowd still singing.

Let me tell you now my heart feels heavy, me feet feel light. I shake all over (which I do) but I feel alright. I never felt like this before, something's got a hold on me that won't let go.

I make my way to our table and stand in front of Tobias now.

I never thought it could happen to me, got me happy when I'm in misery. I never thought it could be this way, love's sure gonna put a hurting on me (I finish the lyric sitting down on the club chair and place a soft kiss on Tobias's lips, before turning around to face the crowd).

I said oh, oh, oh, oh. I said, baby, oh, it must be love.

"You know it must be love." I jump up and start walking back to the stage.

Yeah, he walks like love. You know he walks like love. He talks like love, you know he talks like love.

Makes me feel alright.

"Makes me feel alright."

In the middle of the night.

"In the middle of the night."

La, la, la, la. "La, la, la, la." La, la, la, la. "La, la, la ,la."

Oh, yeah, hey, yeah, uh.

The song finishes and I close my eyes again letting my hand with the microphone rest next to my hip. I tilt my head back and start breathing in hard. I haven't sung in a long time and never in front of a crowd. The crowd explodes in cheers and stomping and I open my eyes to look at them. Some of them whistle, others ask for another song, but I just shake my head and blush, I think, several shades of red. While I was focused on the singing the extra attention didn't bother me, at least not that much, but now, every pair of eyes is trained on me. I get off the stage and try to get back to my friends but several Dauntless keep coming at me congratulating me for my singing and some even ask for my autograph, which makes me chuckle. I feel overwhelmed and I try to find Tobias in the crowd.

"Tobias, help" I say in my mind. Before I know it he's already by my side leading me back to our table.

"Oh my God, Tris" Christina shouts.

"I had no idea you could sing like that" Lynn says surprised.

"That was one hell of a performance" Zeke says.

"Thank you, guys, but I really don't like doing this in public" I say and blush again.

"It sure didn't seem that way" Cara says.

"Did you know that she could sing like that?" Zeke asks Tobias.

"I sure didn't" he says glancing my way and I smile shyly. It never came up. "That was the sweetest thing you ever did for me" he whispers in my ear and I turn to look into his sparkling eyes. "I love you" he says before kissing me.

"I love you too" I say when we part.

We spend another hour with our friends before fatigue gets the better of me. We say goodbye to our friends and head back to our apartment. When we get there I remember Cara and Caleb.

"Honey, I forgot about my brother and Cara" I say and he smiles warmly at me.

"Don't worry. I gave Caleb the key to my old apartment and showed him how to get there. They will spend the night there and come to our place in the morning" he says while unlocking the door.

I step inside first and walk up the stairs. Tobias quickly follows me to keep me steady after locking the door behind us. We enter our room and suddenly I feel very hot. I turn around and launch myself in his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck and he snakes his arms around my back and waist. We press close against each other and kiss passionately. When we part we both stare at each other panting heavily. Tobias picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. He moves quickly to the bed and lays me down. I lie back, both my arms are above my head and my legs are slightly bend and turned to the right.

"You look so hot" he groans and quickly discards his pirate jacket, leaving it on the floor. He bends over me and I wrap myself around him, unwilling to let him stay away from my body any longer. We resume our fevered make out session, Tobias now lying completely over me but making sure not to hurt me. He is holding his body up with his left arm, allowing his right hand to travel up and down my body. His lips leave mine and he peppers feather-like kisses along my neck sucking lightly at my pulse point. I let my hands roam his muscled back and grab the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and over his head exposing his marvelous upper body. I caress his naked skin and trace his faction tattoo with the tip of my fingers. He travels further south and sucks on the exposed skin of my cupped breasts.

"Hm, I need you" I moan and I feel him smile against my skin.

"What do you need, love?" he asks teasingly.

"You. I need you inside me" I moan again. "Please, make love to me" I say panting.

"As you wish" he says.

He keeps caressing my body but travels further south and kisses every part of me even through the fabric of my costume. He slides almost completely off the bed when he slips his hands up my thighs and grabs the hem of my pantyhose. He pulls them down until he reaches my shoes, discards them and the pantyhose on the floor and returns on the bed, positioning himself between my outstretched legs. He teases me with a finger, running it up and down my slit through my soft pink lace panties and I feel my juices overflowing. He removes his finger only to kiss my still covered entrance and a guttural moan escapes my throat. He quickly removes my panties and grabs my hips to keep me in place when he suddenly and without warning inserts his talented, velvet tongue inside my moist womanhood teasing my inside deliciously. While his tongue darts in and out he circles my sensitive bundle of nerves with his finger, nibbling and biting it teasingly every once in a while. He repeats his moves a few times and I feel the familiar pressure build up and explode into a million pieces, Tobias still licking, biting and sucking both my womanhood and my clit. He helps me ride my orgasm and when he stops, he crawls back up to look me in the eyes, smiling a cocky grin, no doubt satisfied with what he did to me. He bends down and kisses my lips and I can taste my orgasm on his tongue. I breathe in a few more times, trying to steady my rapid heart rate when I sit up and push him into the mattress. I kiss his lips, his cheeks, his nose, I nibble on his right earlobe then on his left, I suck on his pulse point and travel down along his collarbone, biting lightly. He takes in sharp breaths and I know he likes what I'm doing. I kiss my way down his chest sucking on his erect nipples, biting them just a little and he growls loudly. I continue my adoration of his body kissing, licking and caressing every inch of exposed skin. When I reach his waistband I make quick work of releasing him from both trousers and boxer briefs exposing his engorged manhood. I smile at the twitching member and grab it gently. I stroke it a few times before bending over and placing a soft kiss to the tip before opening my mouth as wide as possible and sucking it hard. Tobias starts writhing underneath me and I now I'm on the right way. I suck and stroke his dick increasing my pace ever so slightly while using my free hand to play with his testicles. He pushes his hips upwards thrusting his shaft deeper into my throat until he tenses up and releases his life-giving seed deep inside my mouth while calling out my name. I suck him off and then swallow what is left in my mouth before returning to face him. I lie down next to him and he wraps me in his arms kissing me gently on the lips.

"That was amazing, love" he says and I smile. "I love you."

"I love you too" I say and look into his beautiful lust filled eyes. "I want you, Tobias. Now" I say and his expression changes to a predatory one. He is as turned on as I am in this moment. I'm not sure we will be able to prolong our lovemaking session this way.

"You know, you are way overdressed" he says with a chuckle. I look down on me and realize I'm still wearing my burlesque costume. He looks for clips and zippers and I stop him. He looks at me quizzical and I place a finger to his lips which he immediately kisses.

"Wait here" I say. He does as I ask and I get up. I turn on the radio and let some soft rock ballads sound through the bedroom. I use the light switch to turn on the light enough for us to see each other but gentle enough to create a romantic ambiance. I start dancing to the music while fiddling with my costume. I want to give him a little show before we dive into the sheets and make passionate love. I always wanted to do this for him, but somehow we never had the chance. And when I decided to wear this particular outfit I thought it would be a sexy thing to do. I sensually dance in front of the bed and Tobias props himself up on his elbows watching every one of my movements. His member stands already tall again and somehow it looks bigger than usual. I slowly pull my feathered skirt down my body swaying my hips as sensually as I can. Tobias's breathing becomes erratic and through the dim light I can see that his pupils are dilated indicating that he's really turned on by what I'm doing. I let the skirt fall to the ground and step out of it starting to unzip and unbutton my corset. When it also falls to the ground Tobias jumps up from the bed and wraps me in his arms kissing me fiercely with abandon. We get lost in each other and forget the world around us. There's nothing except for us. Tobias turns us around and I take a few steps back until I hit the bed. He lays me down gently and covers me with his naked body. He kisses my lips, then my nose, he nibbles on my earlobe only to move south to my collarbone and place open-mouth kisses on each of my ravens. He sucks on my left breast, teasing the nipple, while kneading my right one. After a while he switches breasts and continues his ministrations.

"Tobias, I can't take it any longer" I manage to say and he looks up at me grinning. Oh, he loves that I'm so needy. Like he's any better. He reaches between us and inserts a finger to test my readiness.

"Knees" he growls and I turn around propping myself up on my knees and arms. "No, lie your head down" he says and I oblige. He rubs his dick up and down my womanhood to fill it with my juices teasing me merciless. He positions himself at my entrance and with one powerful thrust buries himself deep inside me. I cry out as I come from this intense penetration. "Did you just come?" Tobias asks and I can practically see the smirk on his face. I only manage to nod my head slightly. He starts an agonizingly slow in and out move and I feel like going crazy.

"Faster" I pant and he increases his speed. "Harder" I order and he thrusts with wild abandon into me. "Deeper" I cry out as yet another orgasm approaches and he pushes so hard that I swear he just hit a place so deep down in me that it borders on record. He keeps up with this wild, rapid speed bringing us both closer to an unseen summit only to fall off of the edge into sweet oblivion. I meet every one of his thrusts and I can hear flesh hitting flesh and we are both already covered in layers upon layers of sweat, but I don't care. I love my man and he loves me and this is just what I'm living for. Giving myself to him the same way he does to me.

"I'm coming" he growls. "Come with me, baby" he commands and I oblige. We both come together and for a short moment I black out. I fall onto the bed and Tobias still deeply buried inside me lays over me and I welcome his weight. I love it when he just lets go. We try to steady our heart rates, but it's still difficult. Tobias slips out of me and I groan. I want to feel him inside me. He turns me around and wraps me in his arms peppering kisses on my forehead and then kisses my swollen lips.

"That was amazing, baby" I say breathlessly.

"Yeah, it was. I think we're definitely getting better" he says with a chuckle.

"I think so too" I say and we both laugh. I cup his face in my palm and he leans into my touch. "I love you, more than anything in this world" I say serious.

"I love you too. You are the love of my life, Tris, I have no doubt about that" he says just as serious. I snuggle close to him and he rests his chin on my head. "You should sleep, love, it was a long day" he says and I move my head to look up at him.

"Don't you want another go?" I ask and yawn. He chuckles and places a sweet kiss on the tip of my nose.

"Honey, I would make love to you 24/7, but you are tired. And to be honest so am I" he says and I pout. He laughs and pulls me back into his warm embrace. "We could have another go in the morning" he suggests.

"Sounds great" I say and smile to myself. "Tobias?"

"Hm?"

"Could you pull the blanket over us?"

"Of course" he says and lets go of me. He sits up and grabs the blanket and covers us both. We cuddle for a while and talk about how fun the party was and that we should definitely throw one more often. Before I know it I fall asleep happier than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thoughts?


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I want to thank you all for the reviews. They are very helpful. i will take into consideration things you asked me for, since I have thought of them as well, like getting FourTris out of their comfort zone. 
> 
> A reader told me that he or she liked how I write about their moments, whether it's a kiss or more, making it a love scene. I didn't even realize I did it, I swear. When I write about these moments I imagine how I felt or would feel. And let's face it we all want Tobias so I'm making him as perfect as possible. I'm kidding. He isn't perfect, but he tries really hard, which means more than actually being perfect. It shows that he cares and that he is willing to compromise. I want the same of Tris. They aren't perfect, especially given their young age. They need to make mistakes, they need to fight sometimes. But FourTris is only as strong as their biggest problem is creating a gap between them. Both have strong personalities and both are stubborn. I want to explore how they will face certain things as individuals and as a couple.
> 
> So many want to know about Tris - is she pregnant or not? You will find out in the next chapter :P *evil little me*
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter.

45

The next morning I wake up and the smell of coffee filling the entire apartment already announces a good day. I get out of bed and put on my black silk robe and get my black fuzzy slippers and head downstairs. Tobias is standing in front of the stove just in his boxer briefs preparing our breakfast. I sneak up on him and wrap my arms around his body breathing in his masculine scent.

"Good morning, love" he says with a chuckle.

"Good morning, honey. Did you sleep well?" I ask letting go of him and stepping in front of him to give him a quick peck on the lips.

"Wonderful" he answers smiling. "How about you?"

"Extraordinary. You know I read somewhere that workouts late at night are good for you. They help you rest better" I say with a wide grin on my face.

"Is that so?" he asks smirking.

"Yes, it is. Which made me think" I say snaking my arms around his waist and staring into his beautiful dark blue eyes "we should do these workouts more often at night." He laughs whole heartily and places a kiss to my forehead.

"I'm all in" he says.

"Oh, I know you are" I say and he looks at me puzzled for a moment until he gets the pun.

"Aren't you a little minx" he says slapping my buttocks lightly.

"Don't pretend you didn't know, mister" I say and slap his buttocks in return.

"Woman" he growls and I look at him. "If you don't stop you'll get me hard and I still have pancakes to make" he says. At the mention of breakfast my stomach growls loudly.

"Alright. You win" I start saying.

"That's not winning" he says returning to his task. "Winning would be if I could take you right here, right now on this kitchen island. But your brother and his girlfriend might arrive soon" he says.

"You are right. But after they leave, you are all mine" I say.

"You can bet your sweet tushi" he says.

"Tushi?"

"Wanted to try it out" he says with a laugh.

"Alright. You need some help?"

"No. Why don't you go put something on before our guests get here. It's hard enough to not rip your clothes off under normal circumstances, let alone when you're wearing a handkerchief" he says and I look down on me. Admittedly the robe is short, but it's not like I have to cover up in my own home.

"Okay. I'll go change and when I'm done you go. Don't think I don't want you just as much and those boxers are a joke. I could rip them off with my teeth" I say teasingly knowing that his mind already imagines me doing that exact same thing.

"Tris, for God sake's. Now look what you have done" he says turning around and I can see the bulge.

"Sorry" I say apologetically. I run up the stairs and get dressed as quickly as I can. I grab a new pair of undies and a sports bra, some sweatpants and a sweatshirt that says "Warrior Princess". I grab the discarded clothes off of the floor and take them into the bathroom and throw them into the laundry basket. I go to the balcony and open the door to let fresh air in and head downstairs to finish our breakfast.

"Warrior Princess?" Tobias asks when he sees my shirt.

"Yeah. Any objections to that?" I ask putting my hands on my hips daring him to say something wrong. He chuckles.

"Babe, you are not a princess. You are a queen. Our daughter will be the princess" he says kissing my lips and snaking his arms around me.

"Tomorrow we'll know" I say in a low voice, but he knows what I mean.

"Yeah, tomorrow." He kisses my crown and lets go of me to go upstairs to get dressed. I remember that I opened the balcony and shout after him.

"Tobias, the balcony door is open. Please, close it. I don't want you to get sick" I say.

"Don't worry. I'll be right back" he yells from upstairs. I go into the kitchen and find that Tobias has already finished the pancakes. I set the table for four people, place the pancakes right in the middle, grab a bottle of caramel syrup and one with strawberry, get the whipped cream from the fridge and head back to get four glasses from one of the cupboards when I hear a knock on the front door. I go and open it and find Cara and Caleb standing there smiling.

"Good morning you two" I say.

"Good morning" both say at the same time and laugh.

"Please come in. Four made breakfast" I say as they enter the apartment.

"Really?" Caleb asks. "He doesn't seem the type to cook."

"Well, he does."

"At least one in this apartment can cook" my brother says and I smack him lightly.

"She can cook too" Tobias says coming down the stairs, now fully dressed in his favorite black jeans and a skin tight black tee shirt.

"Alright. What's for breakfast then?" Caleb asks.

"We have pancakes with two different kinds of syrup and whipped cream" I inform them. "But if you want we can make something else too" I add.

"No, pancakes would be lovely" Cara says. We all sit down at the dining table and each of us gets a plateful of pancakes. Tobias brought four mugs with coffee and I brought four glasses. I return to the kitchen to get water and orange juice. We eat our meal chatting about last night's events and I ask Cara if she slept comfortable. She only nods and smiles toward my brother who's cheeks are colored with a slight blush. Yucky. I don't want to know that.

Cara feeds my brother and they smile and giggle and kiss and whisper, or at least that's what they think, sweet words to one another and are all lovey-dovey. It makes me sick. I wonder if Tobias and I are also this disgusting. I must have made a disgusted face because Tobias whispers in my ear.

"What is wrong?"

"It's disgusting" I say in my mind.

"What?" he asks.

"Look at them."

"Sweetheart, they are in love" he says with a chuckle.

"They are disgusting. Please tell me we are not this gross."

"Honey, they are not gross. And neither are we. They just express their feelings for each other."

"Can't they do it at their own place. I'm trying to eat here."

"Wouldn't be the first time when this table becomes part of a love declaration" Tobias says and I look up at him.

"That's different."

"Cause they kiss and we had sex on this very table?" he asks raising an eyebrow.

"First, when you say it like that it sounds wrong, which it isn't. And second, this is our house, our table, we can be fucking disgusting all the way if we want. It's our place."

"I think you are exaggerating."

"Maybe. I still don't like it."

"I think you might be more bothered because it's your brother. Think about this. Imagine how he must feel knowing that I can have my way with you all day long if I want and there's no one here to stop me" he asks and I turn to look at him, a wide grin splitting his face.

"Alright, but let me be clear. If you want to have your way with me, mister, you will find them disgusting right about now." He chuckles loudly and Cara and Caleb look at him.

"Sorry, chocked on a piece of pancake" Tobias says taking a sip from his orange juice.

"Serves you right."

We finish up and soon Caleb and Cara leave the apartment. Tobias offered to drive them but Caleb tells us they came using one of their faction's cars. We say goodbye and I start to clean up the table while Tobias puts on some music. Between the two of us the dining area and kitchen are clean in no time and we decide to just stay at home and relax. Tobias puts a movie in the player and we watch a comedy. Or at least we try. About half way through we lost all interest and started making out ending it by making love three times. None of us is willing to cook for lunch so we go downstairs to the cafeteria, where, surprisingly, all our friends have gathered.

"Hey guys" I say.

"Hey" most of them say and the others nod. We sit down and I grab a hamburger and some mashed potatoes and make sure to get a slice of Dauntless cake before Uriah eats it all.

"That was fun last night" Marlene says.

"Yeah, it really was" Shauna agrees.

"I want to thank you for your wonderful job. You made this party awesome and I can't say how much I appreciate your help and dedication" I say.

"Please, don't turn on the waterworks" Lynn says.

"What do you mean?" I ask confused.

"This" she says pointing toward her sister. "What the hell is wrong with you anyway? You act all weird" she says to Shauna.

"I'm just a little emotional these days" Shauna says now crying. Zeke pulls her into his arms and tries to comfort her.

"We can all see that, but why?" Lynn insists.

"Mind your own business" Zeke says a little rough.

"What the hell is your problem? Did your cycles overlap and now you're both nuts?" Lynn asks mockingly.

"Lynn, please" I say trying to make her stop upsetting Shauna. I know what is wrong with her but it's not my place to say anything. When Shauna and Zeke are ready they will share their good news with the rest of our group.

"Maybe she's pregnant" Will suggests and everyone looks at him shocked. Those who know because he revealed Shauna's secret without knowing and those who didn't because it seems absurd.

"Bullshit" Lynn says, but then turns to look at her sister. "Is that true?" she asks cautiously.

"Ehm…ehm…" Shauna stutters.

"Did my brother knock you up?" Uriah asks.

"Uriah" Tobias says in his Four voice making Uriah shrink back just a little. I watch Zeke and Shauna having a silent conversation and I can only guess that Shauna is torn. She wanted to keep this private and now her secret is out. I see how Shauna gives Zeke a slight nod indicating she's okay with revealing their news. Zeke sighs and then turns to the rest of us.

"We wanted to wait a little longer" he starts saying. "It's true, Shauna and I are expecting our first child." Almost instantaneously everyone at our table starts cheering, stomping their feet and congratulate the future parents.

"Congrats, sis" Lynn says hugging her sister.

"Congratulations, Shauna" Marlene and Christina say at the same time. Uriah goes around the table and hugs his brother and Will gets up from his seat to do the same. After everyone congratulates Zeke and Shauna and wish them all the best all the girls agree that Shauna needs a baby shower.

"What's a baby shower?" I ask and Christina starts laughing.

"Seriously, Stiff, you need to learn these things."

"A baby shower is a party thrown for a future mom. All her friends give her stuff for the baby, like bassinet, baby bottles, pacifiers, diapers. Everything a baby needs" Marlene explains.

"Now, was that so hard to explain?" I roll my eyes at Christina and she laughs.

"If you don't take care of her and my niece or nephew I'll kick you stupid, you dumb ass" Lynn says to Zeke who smiles brightly.

"Don't worry, Lynn, I love Shauna and this baby" he says putting his hand protectively over her tummy "more than anything."

"Not to mention if he doesn't take care of her all of us will kick him stupid" I say and everyone agrees.

"You too, Four?" Zeke asks shocked.

"What can I say? Shauna was my friend before we ever were" Tobias says.

"Alright, stop threatening my baby daddy" Shauna says and we laugh.

"So, when's the wedding?" Christina asks.

"What wedding?" Zeke asks.

"Yours, you moron" Uriah says.

"We are not getting married" Shauna says.

"Why not? You love each other and the baby who's on his or her way is proof of that" Marlene inquires.

"We are not getting married just because I'm pregnant" Shauna says sternly.

"We decided to wait at least for the baby to arrive" Zeke says.

"Guys, back off" I say. "They will do what is best for them and their family. Because that's what they are now, married or not."

"And are you going to tell our parents that her oldest daughter is having a baby out of wedlock?" Lynn asks.

"Lynn, I will do it and Zeke will be right there with me" Shauna says.

"Your funeral" Lynn comments under her breath.

"That's enough, Lynn" Zeke growls surprising us. Shauna rubs his arm surely to calm him down and his gaze softens when he looks at her.

"I for one can't wait for the baby to come" Marlene says trying to change the subject.

"Me neither. I love babies" Christina says. The girls start talking about babies and surprisingly each has a different number in mind. Marlene for instance wants two children, Christina wants one or maybe two. Shauna says she will decide on a number after this one is here. Lynn however says she will be happy to be the cool aunt instead of the strict and worn out mom.

"What about you, Tris?" Marlene asks smiling.

"What about what?" I ask swallowing the piece of cake I had in my mouth.

"How many kids do you want?" she inquires.

"Uhm, I don't know. Two" I say.

"We actually thought of five or six, but couldn't decide if only boys or just girls or a balance between the two" Tobias says serious and Zeke chuckles.

"What? Five or six?" Christina and Marlene ask surprised.

"I guess you should start soon then. There's a lot of work to be done if you want that many" Uriah says never looking up from his cake.

"I bet they exercise all the time" Lynn says smirking and I blush crimson.

"Alright you two, stop" Shauna scolds them.

"Just because you're going to be a mom, doesn't mean you're my mom" Lynn says glaring at her sister.

"You are right, but Tris is a leader. Trust me, you better take my motherly scolding over her pissed off leader persona" Shauna says.

"It's okay, Shauna" I say. "It's just fun" I say and Shauna gives me a look that says "we both know it's not". God, I wish it was tomorrow and I would finally know for sure if I'm going to be a mom or not. Part of me fears that Addison will tell me that I'm pregnant, but another part fears even more that she'll tell me I'm not. I push the plate with the half eaten cake away and get up.

"I'm sorry, Tris. I didn't mean it that way" Lynn says apologetically.

"It's okay, Lynn. Really."

"Where are you going?" Christina asks.

"I remembered I need a few things from the store" I say.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Tobias asks and I shake my head no. I need to buy the ingredients for tomorrows dinner. I don't want him to see that. "I don't want you to go alone" he says in his mind.

"Chris, you want to come with me?" I ask Christina and she smiles brightly. She kisses Will goodbye and steps out walking to me. "I will take a walk with Chris, if you don't mind" I say to Tobias.

"Not at all. Do you have your phone?" he asks and I nod. I kiss his lips and say goodbye to our friends and leave with Christina. We walk through the Pit and enter the commercial area. I walk into the market and grab a basket. I pick out several vegetables for the dishes I want to cook when Christina grabs my hand and I turn to look at her.

"What are you doing?" she asks curious.

"What do you think? Shopping for food."

"I can see that. But why?" she inquires.

"I want to surprise Four with a romantic dinner" I say conveniently leaving out the part where I tell her that it's his birthday.

"When?"

"Tomorrow. We have the OBGYN appointment to find out you know what and I wanted to do this regardless of the result" I say. Isn't it great when things turn out the way you want them. It's a half lie, anyways.

"Great. Good luck." We continue shopping when Christina turns to look at me. I see her from my peripheral but don't say anything. "Would you do it?"

"Huh?" I look at her. "What?" I ask confused.

"You know. Would you have a baby out of wedlock?"

"Uhm, I don't know. But I wouldn't want to get married just because I am. I would always feel that Four married me only because of that" I say sincerely. I know he wants to get married regardless, but we want to do it when it's right for both of us, not because it's convenient or social standard dictates it.

"I guess you are right" she says looking away.

"What's wrong?" I ask her.

"I don't know. I've tried to talk to Will about the future but he's avoiding the subject" she says a little frustrated.

"Chris, you can't force him to talk about it if he's not ready" I say.

"But we are moving in together. Shouldn't we talk about marriage and children?" she asks and I look at her shocked.

"No. You are both so young. You should enjoy your time together before you plan a wedding and children" I say.

"Like you do?" she asks sarcastically.

"That's not fair, Christina. If something's up then it was an accident and you know it. Do you think I want this? I'm not ready and neither is Four" I say and turn away from her. I try to keep my tears at bay but it's really hard. I walk through the aisle to gather what I still need and then head to the check out. I pay for my purchases and leave the store without even looking back. I walk fast through the Pit and I can hear Christina call after me. I'm so pissed right now that I'm not even turning around to speak my mind. I feel a sharp pain in my neck and my vision becomes blurry. I turn around to see what is happening, but I lose consciousness before I can make out what is going on.

I wake up and my head is throbbing painfully. I try to put my hand over my forehead but realize I'm tied down. What is going on? Where am I? I try to sit up but it's very difficult for me. What the fuck is going on? I look around the room to assess my situation and my whereabouts. The room is small and dirty, it's warm and damp in here, almost no air. The mattress I was lying on is rotten and smells like cats have peed on it. There is one single light bulb hanging from the ceiling, flickering every once in a while. Other than a door on my right there's no visible exit. Not even a ventilation shaft. I try to remember what happened. I was in the store with Christina and we were talking. With had an argument and I left after paying for my purchases. I walked fast through the Pit. I heard Christina yell after me but I couldn't understand a word. Then I felt a pain in my neck and lost consciousness. The next thing I remember is waking up in this shit hole. I try to listen carefully. Maybe I will hear something that will tell me where I am, but it's so silent that I start panicking. What if they left me here? What if no one comes back? I can't even make contact with mom or Tobias because I have no idea where I am. I try to get rid of my ties but it's futile. I lean back against the cold wall and start crying. How am I going to get out of this? I don't even know where this is. I cry for what seems like hours until fatigue gets the better of me and I pass out on the dirty mattress.

When I wake up again I'm tied to a chair in the middle of a room. It's not the one where I fell asleep. This one is bigger and has a door on my left and two big windows. The windows are dirty and it seems they have been like this for years. The room smells of dust and old paper mixed with sweat and something I can't quite describe, but it's very powerful. I look around and realize that I'm alone. I try to get out of the chair but I'm stuck. Whoever did this made sure to tie my legs to the chair as well. Nevertheless, I try my luck and move around as much as possible, trying to loosen my restraints.

"You should try bouncing up and down as well" a male voice from behind me says. I will myself not to turn around and play cool.

"What am I doing here?" I ask coldly.

"Visiting" the voice says mockingly.

"Where am I?"

"My place" he answers.

"What do you want from me?"

"Some fun" he says and a cold shiver runs down my spine. Is he saying what I think he's saying?

"Wouldn't it be more fun if I could move?" I ask trying to at least get him in my field of vision.

"Don't worry, for what I have in mind for you there's no need to move around" he says coldly and I involuntarily shudder. He finally steps in front of me and I tentatively look up to look into my kidnappers face. He is wearing a mask over his face blocking my view effectively.

"Who are you?" I ask, not really expecting him to answer.

"Call me Romeo" he answers and I can hear the smirk. Romeo. Ugh. Disgusting. "Shall we start?" he asks. I remain still and just stare at his head. "Alright then. Let's get started" he says and takes out a taser. He approaches me and I can hear the buzzing of the device that no doubt will hit my skin soon. I mentally prepare myself for the worst and close my eyes when I feel the electrical surge run through my body, making it convulse uncontrollably. When he retracts the device I realize that I held my breath. I drag in much needed air into my aching lungs and try to ignore the searing pain. Romeo repeats this "exciting" treatment hitting my skin several times in several places and I feel like I'm going to pass out soon. I fight the fatigue and I try to ignore the pain, but every time I get close to unconsciousness he increases the voltage and I'm practically buzzed awake by the intensity of the electrical current.

I'm at my personal end and I now wish I could pass out. He stops the torture and sets the taser aside facing me once again. My vision is blurry and I can barely hear anything. I force myself to stay awake to see where this is going next, but a sharp punctuated pain in my neck delivers a sleeping drug that activates itself instantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I needed some drama. Don't be mad.
> 
> What will happen next?
> 
> Who is behind this?
> 
> Will Tobias find Tris?
> 
> Where is she held?


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Before you read this chapter I strongly advise you to read Tris is missing - You and me against the world Tie-in
> 
> It's a little one-shot if you want from Tobias's POV on Tris's kidnapping.
> 
> Also, the tie-in will reveal a few things that I couldn't have from Tris's POV. So read and review.
> 
> Enjoy! And thank you again!

46

I open my eyes and I find myself again in the small dirty room from before. My cell. I want to cry, but it seems my tears have dried out. Unlike before I'm now untied and I hug my legs close to my chest and rest my head on my knees. Why is this happening to me? What is going on? Where am I? What do they want from me?

I try to think of who might be behind this. The first person that comes to mind is Marcus Eaton. I know he is a bastard and he has a lot of reasons to not like me. But this? He did threaten me, but it was directed toward my position as council member. But maybe since he is no longer head of the council he takes his revenge to a whole new level.

Then there's Edward. He actually threatened to kill me. Evelyn told him not to, but who's to say he will obey her orders. According to Myra he is obsessed with pleasing Evelyn any way he can. Just because Evelyn said no, doesn't mean he won't pursue this on his own. He might as well be responsible for Marcus's shooting. He certainly is tall enough to pose as Tobias and with black clothes and mask over his face anyone could mistake him with Tobias. And he didn't seem very fond of the idea of Evelyn getting closer to her son. Come to think of it, he looked rather disturbed about this turn of events.

Then of course we still have Evelyn. I'm not entirely convinced that she wouldn't pull some shit like this and play the worried citizen and console her son over the loss of his girlfriend. I can't continue my train of thought because the small door to my cell opens and this Romeo character enters with a can of beans and places it in front of me, along with a glass of water.

"Where am I?" I ask, although I know he won't tell me.

"Eat" he barks and leaves me alone again, closing and locking the door behind him. I'm not hungry, but who knows when I'm going to eat again. I try to swallow the food and drink the water eagerly, only now realizing how famished I really am. I set the can and glass aside and get up. My entire body aches and I find it hard to stand straight. I walk a few steps forward and then a few steps back to gain control over my numb limbs. I try to figure out how to escape, but there's no chance of even trying while I'm in here. My best chance is to project myself once I'm outside this room and try to look around for clues about my whereabouts. I pace for a few more minutes before the door to my cell flies open and Romeo steps inside with a gun in his hand. He motions me to move out making sure to stay right behind me. He pushes me forward burrowing the barrel of the gun into my back and I flinch. I don't remember getting bruised there. I trip a couple of times making sure to take in as much as I can about my surroundings. When we reach the now familiar torture room I see the chair in the middle and I look up toward the windows. Even though they are dirty I can tell it's day outside, which means I haven't been here for long. The fact that I keep passing out must be why I have no sense of time anymore.

"Sit" he commands and I turn my head and look over my shoulder. He is now holding his gun in front of my face and tilts it toward the chair. I do as he says, since there isn't much I can actually do to escape. He is armed, I'm not. Even if I disarm him I have no idea if he's working alone or if there's someone else in another room nearby. Not to mention I have no fucking clue where I am. I can be in the middle of the city or near the fence. I can be hours away from home and no one knows where I am. This Romeo person must know the place, while I have only seen my cell, the small corridor outside of it and this room. This could be a huge building and I could get lost before I even get out. I need to be smart. Focus Tris. Be brave.

I sit down on the chair and Romeo ties me to it, this time however only my hands. I wait for him to get away from me and I look around to find clues, but nothing seems to stick out. He goes to a table not far from where I'm sitting to my right and puts the gun down. He picks up the taser again and I already prepare myself for the pain. I try to focus and almost manage to project myself when a powerful electrical current courses through my body waking me up. He keeps the taser in place for a few more moments before stopping it. He circles my chair, just like a predator would with his prey. I close my eyes and try to block out everything, the noise, my own fear. I feel the familiar darkness approach me and when I think I did it the taser touches my body again and rips through me causing me to cry out. He increased the intensity slightly, but enough for me to wish I was dead right now. He lets go of me and I drag in ragged breaths. I lift my head and try to see through my teary eyes.

"What do you want from me?" I ask but as always he doesn't answer. If I could only make him talk. Why is he doing this? What's the point? If he wanted to kill me he had more than one opportunity to do it. If he would want any kind of information he would just ask me. But he keeps quiet and continues torturing me. I let my head fall again and concentrate on my task. I breathe in and then out. I focus on my surroundings and block out all the noises. I feel the darkness envelope me and I find myself standing. I did it. I projected myself. I see Romeo approach me again and I can feel the taser as it burns my skin. This is the first time that I can actually feel anything when projecting. The electrical current must be really powerful to do that. I run out of the room and look around. I have one shot at this. Who knows what he will do after I wake up. I look to my left. That's where we came from. I decide to run to my right. I was right. It is a building. It looks like an old factory. I try to get out, but suddenly I am pulled back. I open my eyes and realize I am all wet and I'm coughing. He woke me up by throwing water at me.

I look around confused trying to assess if there's a chance for me to get out of this chair, but he did a great job in tying me up. He puts the now empty bucket down and turns the taser back on. I want to tell him to stop but before I can even finish my thought the taser hits my skin and I scream out in pain. He continues several times until I swear I'm seeing a bright light and know that I'm a goner. Before I pass out again he stops with his torture and sets the taser aside. He returns and unties me, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. I only feel my body slump on the mattress and I drift off.

I open my eyes and look into two dark blue ones and for a moment I think it's Tobias, but it's not. It's my son. He looks at me frowning.

"Mommy huwt" he says and I try to smile.

"I'm fine, baby" I say and realize how raspy my voice sounds.

"Daddy wowid. He look fo you" he says to me, his eyes sad.

"How did you get here?" I ask him.

"You call me" he says.

"Do you know where we are?" I ask hopeful, although how can a son of mine that doesn't even exist know the answer to that question.

"Neaw fence. Old factowy. Mommy said neva play hee because big towew fall down" he tells me and I realize what he means. It's the old fallen factory with the high evacuation tower. This building is so old that no one even knows what was made here. I need to check if what he says is true. I need to get outside and see for myself.

"Thank you, baby. That was very helpful" I say and open my arms to hug my little angel. He flies into my arms and I pull him close breathing in his unmistakable scent. It smells like lemon and milk and a little like Tobias. "I love you" I whisper in his ear.

"Love you, mommy."

I open my eyes and I'm back in my cell. I focus on what I want to do and let the darkness envelope me. I managed to project myself and walk through the heavy metal door. I run through the corridor, pass the torture room and run outside. I look around and finally manage to see the tower. I'm indeed in the old factory near the fence. My little angel was right. I only now realize that it's dark outside. I must have slept long enough for night to fall. I focus on Tobias and start calling his name.

"Tobias, Tobias" I chant several times, unsuccessful at first.

"Tris? Oh my God, Tris. Is that you?" he asks desperate.

"Tobias, I don't know how much time I have. I'm in the old factory near the fence. The one with the tall tower that looks like it will fall down any minute" I say quickly, unaware if this connection will hold long enough to talk.

"Tris, are you alright, love?" he asks worry clear in his voice.

"I'm fine. Please, come quick" I say and feel a pull. Oh no. I'm waking up. "Tobias, did you hear me? Tobias?"

I open my eyes and see the masked man towering over me. He grabs me by my arm and pulls me up. I try to resist but he punches me in the stomach. I fall to the ground holding my middle and trying hard not to cry. He pulls me back up and drags me into the torture room. He tries to tie me back up but I had enough. I push him with my foot and he loses balance making him fall over. I seize my opportunity and run out of the room, into the hallway and then outside. It's dark outside and I think of where to hide. I can't stay here, he will find me eventually. But I don't know if I'm strong enough to outrun him. I was here only a couple of times and I can't remember where the exit is. However, I won't go back in there. I decide to run. I run into the opposite direction of the tower since I doubt that it would stand anywhere near the exit. I can hear heavy footsteps behind me. I don't turn around, I know who it is. I focus on what's in front of me. I see a lot of rubble and something that used to be a fence. I increase my speed hopping onto the rubble and climbing as fast as I can to reach the top. My lungs burn and I can hardly breathe. I climb higher and I feel like my whole body is protesting. Every nerve ending in my body hurts and all I want to do right now is to lie down and sleep. But if I stop now I'm dead. I doubt Romeo will let me live to see another day after the stunt I've pulled. I reach the top and assess my way back down, but I don't have time to think of the danger in climbing down such an unstable structure when a killer is on my tail. I jump and slip and get up again and finally reach the bottom. I feel more exhausted then ever but I keep running. The thought of Tobias keeps me running. I can't leave him. I love him too much. I want to go back to him. I need to go back to him. I hear a loud noise that can only be described as a gunshot. I stop momentarily and I turn around. Romeo has a gun in his hand and points it toward me.

"On your knees, bitch" he growls. I stand taller than ever. If he wants to kill me so shall it be, but I won't let him humiliate me any longer. I will look straight into his mask covered face. He should see my eyes piercing through him when he pulls that trigger. He takes a few steps forward, the gun still in his hand and his arm is outstretched. He comes even closer to me and the gun is only inches away from me. Then I hear car engines. I want to turn around but I need to stay focused. The noise distracted Romeo for a moment and he looked away from me for a split second. I launch myself at him, grab the gun out of his hand, twist around and stand now before him with his gun in my hand and trained on him. I signal him to move toward where the noise came from so that I can see who is coming. He moves as I direct but launches himself at me.

"Tris!" I hear Tobias shout panicked. I stay focused, I ignore him and everything else and concentrate on what I'm doing. I can faintly hear someone shout "drop the gun" and "you're surrounded". Like that would help. A guy that did something really bad is told he has no escape. What could possibly go wrong when you tell a person who has nothing left to lose that the game is over? We are still fighting over the gun when I hear a gunshot and then silence. I felt the recoil so I know the shot came from the same gun I'm holding right now. But I didn't feel anything else. I didn't get shot. I look up and the tall man who was just wrestling me for the gun slumps into me and knocks me down. I fall backwards and the motionless body keeps me pinned down. I try to shove him off of me but I just can't. He is too heavy and I'm too tired to move. I close my eyes for a moment and feel how the heavy weight is lifted off of me. The next thing I know is that someone is gathering me up. No. Not someone. Tobias. I open my eyes and I look into Tobias's worried ones. He smiles faintly when he sees me looking back at him and he places a sloppy, hungry kiss on my lips.

"Tobias" I say, my voice weak and raspy, completely foreign to me.

"It's alright, love. I've got you. You are safe" he says holding me close. He rocks us both, although I don't know for whom it is meant, to comfort me or to calm him. Or maybe both. He stands up pulling me with him still keeping me close. I want to step forward but I'm too tired. Tobias picks me up holding one arm under my knees and the other securely around my back and carries me to one of the cars. He sits me down and takes a seat right next to me. I cuddle close to him letting him hold me. The car drives off and the steady rocking of the car lulls me to sleep. When I wake up again I'm in a bed in a bright room. I force my eyes open, but the light is too bright for me to see much. I hear voices to my right and turn my head.

"Beatrice, sweetheart, you are up" my mom says, her voice betraying her worry.

"Mom? Where am I?" I ask my voice still raspy.

"You are in the hospital. Four brought you here after he found you" she explains.

"Where is he?"

"I'm right here, love" he says and sits on the chair on the left side of my bed, holding my hand in his. "Your dad is here too."

"Hello my sweet girl" my dad says, standing behind my mom and placing both hands on her shoulders.

"What happened?" I ask confused.

"What can you remember?" my dad asks.

"I remember leaving the cafeteria yesterday after lunch. I went shopping with my friend, Christina" I start telling and realize I don't know if she is alright. I look toward Tobias and he smiles a little.

"She's alright" he reassures me.

"Please, continue, sweetheart" my dad prompts.

"I had an argument with her and left the store without looking back. I heard her shout after me, but I was too upset to face her just yet. I felt a pain in my neck and I turned around in hopes of seeing what happened, but I lost consciousness. Then I woke up in a small dirty room with one single door and a mattress on the floor. One single light bulb was the only light source I had."

"How many were there?" my dad asks.

"I only saw the one. He called himself Romeo" I say and both my parents gasp.

"Hello Tris" Addison says coming in.

"Oh, hello Addison. Good to see you" I say and try to smile a little.

"No, it's good to see you. I'm sorry for what happened to you" she says with a sad expression on her face.

"Thanks. Mom, dad, Four, this is Dr. Addison Montgomery. She's my doctor. Addison, these are my parents, Natalie and Andrew Prior" I introduce them. They all say hello and Addison asks to speak to me alone. Everyone leaves and I want to call Tobias back, but there's something I need to ask Addison without him present.

"Addison, I need your help" I say and she looks at me intrigued.

"Sure. How can I help you?" she asks.

"During my time away I was unconscious part of the time and I have no idea if…" I say but trail off.

"If he abused you?" she asks directly. I nod shyly.

"When you were brought in I was informed that one of my patients needs my help. Of course, I didn't know it was you at the time. You were unconscious, but I checked you out. There are no traces of rape. But I found bruises and burn marks all over your body. What happened?"

"I would like to tell this with my family present, but before that would it be possible for you to check if I'm pregnant?"

"I already did. I did a more thorough exam than I originally planned. You were never pregnant, which is good" she says trying to smile.

"What do you mean?" I ask confused. I know I'm young but if I would have been pregnant I would have had this baby and loved it with all my heart.

"The physical and emotional strain you were put through would have killed the embryo" she explains and I gasp. Silent tears run down my face and I put my right hand over my tummy. Addison let's me cry for a while, letting me get it out of my system and I'm very thankful for that. When the tears subside I ask her to let my family back in which she does. Tobias upon seeing my tear stained face rushes over to me and pulls me in his strong arms, rocking us both like before. My parents sit on two chairs, while Tobias sits on my bed, never letting me go.

"Sweetheart, I know it's difficult, but we need to know as much as possible" my dad says and I nod. I take a deep breath and close my eyes recalling what happened to me.

"I tried to find out what he wanted from me, why he was doing it, but he avoided answering me. I don't think we exchanged more than ten sentences total" I tell them. I don't know how to tell them the torture part.

"Did he hurt you?" Tobias asks.

"Nothing I couldn't handle" I answer evasive.

"That's not an answer, Beatrice" my dad scolds.

"He tied me to a chair and electrocuted me" I say in a low voice and close my eyes. I hear my mom gasp and feel Tobias tense up. My dad must have stood up, because I hear the chair on the tile floor scratching the surface.

"I examined her thoroughly upon arrival. She has a few burn marks and some bruises, but no real damage" Addison explains. "She needs to rest for a few days, but I'm confident she will be back on her own feet in no time" she adds.

"Thank you" my mom says and I hear the door open and close. I open my eyes and realize that Addison is gone.

"That bastard" I hear Tobias from behind me holding me even tighter. I can't move and it hurts a little, but I'm glad he is here and I'm in his arms. And I'm sure he is too.

"What about Romeo?" I ask, realizing no one told me about him. Last thing I remember is the gunshot and then him falling over me.

"He's dead. He can't hurt you anymore" my dad says. At the mention of his death I lift myself up as much as I can.

"What? How?"

"When you wrestled for the gun it accidentally went off and he was hit. The doctors tried their best but he didn't survive. We are now trying to find out who he was" my dad explains.

"Oh my God" I gasp. I've killed someone. Tears start streaming down my face and I start sobbing.

"Love, please, it's over" Tobias tries to calm me.

"Tobias, I've killed someone" I say putting my head in my hands.

"He wanted to kill you" Tobias firmly says.

"But I killed him" I repeat.

"Honey, it was an accident" my dad says soothingly.

"It's easy for you to say. You don't have blood on your hands" I say and try to get up. The moment I'm standing I feel dizzy and almost immediately fall back on the bed.

"Sweetheart, you are still recovering. You need to rest" my mom says worried.

"Please, leave. All of you" I say staring at the bed sheets. They remain still and silent for a minute before I hear footsteps. I feel how my mom kisses my head and then exits the room, followed by my dad. Tobias stays still.

"Do you want me to go also" he asks, hurt clear in his voice.

"He didn't touch me" I say but keep looking at the bed sheets. "Addison checked." I hear him let out a breath and I know he is relieved to hear that.

"He hurt you nevertheless" Tobias says, his voice softer than before. "If he wouldn't have died I would have killed him with my own bare hands" he growls.

"Don't say that" I turn around and look at him through the new tears that have gathered in my eyes. "My mind understands that it was an accident, but I still feel guilty. Tobias, I've killed a person. It doesn't matter if he was bad and that he hurt me. I killed him and this will haunt me forever. I don't want something like this for you. The whole time I was gone I thought of you and how much you must suffer not knowing where I am. I wanted to contact you but I didn't know where I was. The pain he put me through was temporarily. I had more bruises and I was in a lot more pain during initiation. But this is different. And what hurts me the most is that you are hurt because of me" I say letting the tears fall freely.

"Love" he says and pulls me in his arms.

"I should have listened to you" I say after a while.

"What do you mean?" he asks rubbing a hand up and down my back.

"I should have been more careful, maybe even gotten that bodyguard you wanted" I say keeping my head under his chin.

"It's no use to think of what might have been, love. You are back and you are safe and I will make who is responsible for this suffer" he vows. I don't know what to say so I just snuggle closer to him and let him lull me to sleep. I don't really want to sleep, but I feel so tired.

"I planned a romantic dinner for your birthday" I say remembering why I went to the store in the first place.

"Huh?" he asks confused. He must have been thinking of something. "My birthday? How do you know when my birthday is?" he asks and I look up at him trying to smile.

"I read your file. Perks of being a leader" I say and he smiles before kissing my forehead.

"We can have a romantic dinner when the doctors let you go home" he says. I nod.

"Happy birthday, Tobias" I say.

"Thank you, love." Tobias keeps rubbing my back and soon I find myself drifting into slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: How about this SOB torturing Tris like this?
> 
> Who was he working for?
> 
> How will Tobias react to the news he won't be a dad?
> 
> How will Tris work this whole situation out? She killed a person. Will she let this affect her or will it make her stronger?
> 
> Reviews expected this time :P


	47. Chapter 47

47

It's Friday morning and Tobias helps me pack my things. The doctors said I needed to rest properly and ordered me to stay in the hospital. I tried to argue, but Tobias put his foot down. I was very surprised to learn that what I perceived as a few hours in captivity was actually more than two days. It wasn't Monday morning when Tobias and the others found me, it was Wednesday. Addison told me that my blood tested positive for sleeping drugs. That and the physical and mental strain I was put through made my body weak and my mind confused. After the initial talk with Tobias and my parents I repeated my story so many times that it already seems surreal to me. There is still no new information on my attacker's true identity. His picture and general physical information was given to all the factions to check in their data bases and ask their members if someone is missing. So far no luck, which makes me think he might be factionless.

I talked to Tobias a lot about what happened. I told him about not being pregnant and I could see in his eyes the slight disappointment, but when I told him what Addison told me he was a little relieved. He refused to leave my sight. He stayed with me the whole time. I wanted to tell him to go home, but I just couldn't. I was selfish. I wanted him by my side, holding me, comforting me. He told me that Tori accepted our offer and on Monday she was officially introduced as our third leader. She was the one in charge this week, since I was first missing and then held "prisoner" in the hospital and Tobias refused to leave me alone. On Thursday all my friends came to see me. They brought flowers and fruit baskets and to everyone's surprise Uriah brought me some Dauntless cake.

I had no real wounds, except for the burn marks maybe, so the doctors thought I was rested enough and allowed me to go home. Tobias is currently gathering all the flowers that still look good and puts them in a bucket, while I put the few clothes I have in the backpack Christina brought me. I finish up and look outside the window.

"What are you thinking about?" Tobias asks me embracing me from behind.

"That I'm glad I can finally go home" I say leaning back.

"I'm glad too. Come on. Let's go before some doctor comes in and wants another sample" he says jokingly and I remember all the times I've complained about the doctors here that they only want one thing from me – samples. I laugh and pick up my backpack. We leave the room and walk the short distance to the front desk of the floor and sign the discharge papers. Tobias grabs my hand and we take the elevator to the lobby. We walk hand in hand outside where our car is parked and I get inside while Tobias deposits my backpack and the bucket in the trunk. He then gets into the car and we drive home. We remain silent for a while until I speak up.

"So, how is Tori holding up?"

"She's fine. The two weeks prior to her naming as leader were very valuable. She learned a lot and faced this situation like a pro" he answers smiling.

"I'm glad you suggested Tori for leadership. She is great. We have not only a good friend in her, but a trusted co-worker" I say looking at him.

"She is. Jack called me while you were in the bathroom. He wanted us to go to Candor today for your statement, but I told him we would go on Monday. You still need to rest" Tobias says.

"We could have gone. I don't mind" I say and he turns to look at me for a brief moment and I can see the disapproval in his eyes. "Monday is fine too" I say quickly, not wanting to get into an argument with him.

"Thank you." Soon afterwards we arrive at the compound and Tobias drives into the garage. I get out and get behind the car to get my backpack, but Tobias already took it and the bucket full of flowers. He hands me the key to lock the car and we walk inside, pass our offices and head toward the staircase that leads to our home. We climb the stairs and I realize I'm yearning for my bed. For someone who spend the last three days in bed, mostly, I'm really tired. But to be fair I didn't really rest well. The bed was small and uncomfortable and it was by no means suited for two people. Neither Tobias nor I wanted to spend one night without the other. Talk about dependent. We finally reach our door and I slip my hand in Tobias's back pocket to retrieve the front door key when I notice something.

"Tobias, this isn't the key" I say and show it to him. He smiles a little.

"Yes, it is. After you went missing Zeke changed the locks on our apartment door and both our offices. Your keychain contained all those keys. Also, I informed everyone that your phone has been stolen and that you would contact them when you get a new number" he explains. I didn't even think of that.

"Thank you" I say and stand on the tip of my toes and place a gentle kiss to his lips.

"What for?" he asks smiling.

"For thinking about it." I open the door and we enter, Tobias going straight into the living room to deposit the bucket on the coffee table, while I close and lock the front door. "Honey, would you take a nap with me?" I ask and he turns around, a puzzled look on his face.

"Didn't you complain just this morning you are sick and tired of lying down?"

"Yeah, in that hospital bed. But not at home. I'm tired" I say pouting and he chuckles.

"Alright" he says putting my backpack on the couch and coming over to where I'm standing and picking me up bridal style. I giggle and he kisses my cheek while walking up the stairs. When we are in our bedroom he gently sits me down on the bed and removes my shoes. I take off my jacket and wait for him to do the same. He climbs into bed next to me and we cuddle until I fall asleep.

I must have slept for longer than I thought because when I look outside the window it's already dark. I look toward where Tobias is supposed to lie but he isn't here. I get up and walk outside our bedroom and head toward the stairs. I can hear voices coming from the living room and wonder who might be here.

"Oh, hello Tris" Tori greets when she sees me.

"Hey Tori" I say.

"Did you sleep well, honey?" Tobias asks me.

"Yeah. What time is it?" I ask looking around for the clock.

"It's almost six p.m. You hungry?"

"A little bit."

"What sounds good?" he asks getting up.

"Going to the cafeteria" I say and he stops in his movements.

"You want to go to the cafeteria? I thought maybe you want to stay home" he says coming to me now.

"No. I want to see our friends and don't feel so isolated anymore" I say.

"I think that would be great. Everyone keeps asking me about you" Tori says getting up as well.

"You sure you want to go to the cafeteria?" he asks again. I keep myself from rolling my eyes and nod. "Alright, but you should put some shoes on" he says pointing toward my sock covered feet.

"Yeah, probably. I'll be right back" I say and go back into the bedroom to put on my boots. I'm back down a minute later and all three of us walk down to the cafeteria.

Tori wasn't kidding. Everyone who sees me tells me how glad he or she is that I'm back and that I'm okay or people ask me how I'm doing. I think it takes us nearly ten minutes to get inside the cafeteria and when I think I can finally breathe again the crowd gathered in the cafeteria starts chanting my name along with powerful stomps and whistling. I blush and grab Tobias's hand tighter and he looks at me.

"They are happy you are back. They were all worried and helped me find you" he says. He told me before that everyone kept looking for me, both the faction members, but also other people in the city. I try to reach my table and sit down, but everyone keeps saying my name and some started to chant "speech". I hang my head for a moment and then look up into Tobias's loving eyes. He squeezes my hand reassuringly and I get up and stand on the bench. I hate speaking in front of people. The room gets quiet and every pair of eyes in here is trained on me. I swallow hard past the lump in my throat and take a deep breath.

"I want to thank you all for your kind words" I start saying. I really don't know what I should say. "Four told me how all of you helped finding me and I'm grateful for that. We both are" I say looking at Tobias who keeps smiling at me. I turn my gaze to the crowd and realize they deserve to know a few things, if not all. "I killed the man who kidnapped me" I say and I hear gasping and I look around and a few people look shocked, including Tobias who probably didn't think I would talk about this. "I wasn't planning on doing it. It was an accident. I'm not telling you this to justify my actions, but to be honest with you. You sacrificed your time and efforts to help Four find me and I will be forever grateful. You are an extension of my family and you deserve to know the truth coming right from me. I will spare you the details, but I can tell you it wasn't nice. I didn't think I would ever come back home. I already thought I'm a goner. And to be fair if it wouldn't have been for all of you helping to find me I probably would be right now. We still don't know who my kidnapper was or why he did or if he was acting alone. A picture of him was send to all the factions to see if anyone recognizes him, but I have little faith that this might work. This experience however opened my eyes. We, more than any other faction, are warriors and I'm embarrassed that it happened to me out of all people. You chose me to lead you and here I am getting kidnapped" I say spitting the last part.

"Tris, what are you doing?" Tobias whispers concerned and I look at him through a curtain of tears.

"Don't do it" I hear someone in the crowd say and I turn to look at that person.

"Do what?" I ask and a tall woman with pink hair and elaborate tribal tattoo on her left upper arm stands up and looks me straight in the eyes.

"Blame yourself. You are not responsible for this. That son of a bitch who did it is. He deserved worse than dying" she says and many if not all cheer at her words.

"It's not that simple" I try to say.

"Why?" Uriah asks and I turn to look at him.

"Because I was made aware of at least two different people who threatened to hurt or even kill me. I thought I could handle it, but clearly I was wrong" I say sternly and let the tears fall. I don't have the strength to keep them any longer.

"That doesn't make it your fault" another man in the crowd says and a few others approve with a short "yeah".

"This could have happened to anyone" another Dauntless says.

"But it happened to me" I say a little pitiful.

"Tris, we didn't chose you because you are the strongest or less likely to get kidnapped or whatever" the pink haired woman says. "We chose you because of your courage and determination to do good."

"Besides I think it's time we resume some training" Lauren says.

"I think you are right" Lynn agrees.

"I don't think yoga or whatever you ladies did qualifies as training" Zeke says dismissively.

"Actually, that's not what we did" Lauren says and I can feel Tobias's eyes on me but I keep looking at Lauren.

"No?" Uriah asks.

"We trained ourselves in combat" Lynn answers.

"What exactly does that mean?" Tobias asks, his Four mask in place and I dare look at him. His eyes are still on me and I know I have to answer that.

"After initiation everyone seemed to dismiss our request" I say pointing toward the girls "to be trained more. I've seen some disturbing trend among the Dauntless men" I say and the room is quiet again. "I think I can speak on behalf of all Dauntless women when I say we thank you for trying to keep us safe and we love you for that, but we are as Dauntless as any man here. We went through the same initiation any male Dauntless went. Some of us are better even the men. This is why I just couldn't get it in my head why every Dauntless male tries to keeps us females from being able to protect ourselves. My friends and I formed a little club. We met every Tuesday and Thursday in the training room to fight. Thanks to Lauren and Shauna we were able to come up with a training plan specifically suited for women. We want to be able to fight our own battles, literally. And we can. But this doesn't mean we don't need you to protect us as well. I don't know about the rest, but, Four, I don't want to be in a situation where I have to rely only on your fighting skills to survive. You are an excellent fighter and I'm sure I could learn even more from you if you would only let me. No one said that we don't want or need our men to protect us, because I for one am glad that Four does that for me. But, honey, I've got your back. If it ever comes to it you can rely on me too, because I am a fighter. I'm a warrior. I'm Dauntless" I say and all the women get up from their seats, both young and old, stomp their feet, cheer and whistle and even a few men join in, those who don't just look at me stunned. I look at Tobias and I can't read him at all. His Four mask makes it difficult for me to see how he is really feeling about it. I think of asking him in my mind, but decide otherwise. He needs to think of what I said. The noise in the cafeteria slowly dies down and I wonder how long Tobias will just stand there staring at me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asks. I would have expected him to ask this more privately, but maybe he is too shocked.

"I did, more or less. Remember I asked you to train me and you refused, saying you don't want to hurt me. I knew that if I would go to Zeke or even Uriah they would say the same thing. So the girls and I decided to this on our own. I was planning on telling you, but I wanted to get at least good first" I say staring back into his beautiful eyes.

"Good?" I hear Shauna ask. I turn to look at her quizzical.

"I think that's the understatement of the century" Lynn says.

"Why?" Zeke inquires.

"Tris is a great fighter. I think even better than Four" Lynn answers.

"Come on. Four is a great fighter" a man in the crowd says.

"Yeah? Wanna bet?" Lynn asks the man.

"Guys, I really don't think I'm better than Four" I say shyly.

"Are you kidding me?" Shauna asks with disbelief. "We have learned fighting techniques they haven't even heard of. And you are great. When you fight it's elegant and yet deadly. You are really talented when it comes to beating someone senseless" she says glancing toward Lynn.

"I let her do that" Lynn defends.

"Yeah, right. In your dreams" Christina says mockingly.

"Could somebody please tell me how you guys even learned different fighting techniques?" Zeke asks.

"When I was a kid I found this book in the library. It's about different fighting techniques and we looked for the ones best suited for women" Shauna explains.

"I even thought of teaching the new initiates a few moves" Lauren says.

"Are they that good?" Uriah asks.

"You can come with me to the training room and find out" she replies.

"I would like to see that too" Tobias says and I look at him shocked. "Of course, if you are up for it" he asks, his Four mask still in place. I give a slight nod and he helps me down from the bench. He grabs my hand and we walk out of the cafeteria and toward the training room. I want to talk to him, but I don't want to pressure him. We reach the training room and Lauren grabs my hand and drags me to the mats. Tobias comes closer to watch me like an instructor, no doubt. I turn around and see that hundreds of people joined us. Everyone tries to get a good look of what will go down. Unlike the training sessions during initiation we keep our boots on. Lauren and I take fighting stances and start circle each other. I don't want to do this, especially if so many people watch me. I close my eyes and let my hands rest on each side of my body. I hear from somewhere in the room someone shout "watch out she'll attack" but I ignore it. I calm my breathing and focus on the task at hand. There's no one here but me and Lauren. I block the extra noise the others make by whispering or simply breathing. I listen intently to Lauren's breathing and stepping and the moment she launches at me I open my eyes and deflect her attack. She doesn't lose balance and starts a new attack. We repeat this move a few times. Come to think of it. This is the first time she and I fight. Up until now we practiced new moves or old ones as warm up so to speak, but this is our actual first real fight. Okay, this is it. They wanted a show, here they get it. Lauren starts her attack again and this time she distracts me with her hands and successfully kicks my own feet from under me. I jump back up pushing me hard from the ground and stand tall again. She launches at me again and this time I grab her hand twist it, roll over her back and bring her down, still holding her hand. I hear far away noises and dismiss them. I let her get up again and we continue our fight. We both manage to land a few hits and kicks, but then I just had enough. We are both good and I'm really hungry. I let her attack me again, since I noticed she is very impatient. This is her downfall. By moving first she leaves herself with no defense just long enough for me to move. She prepares herself to punch again when I let myself fall to the ground, kick her feet from under her, turn around and kick her in the stomach. We both get up almost simultaneously, even though she is a little slower thanks to the kick and we resume our fighting stance. She tries to do the same I just did, but I jump up and avoid her outstretched leg. I hit the ground hard and push myself up, rotate mid-air, grab her half-outstretched arms and when I land on my feet right behind her I pull her down to the ground and pin her down. Shauna calls the fight over and declares me winner. The Dauntless gathered here cheer loud and I can barely hear my own thoughts. I chance to look at Tobias and a smirk is plastered on his face. I check if Lauren is alright, but she only waves her hand telling me she's fine and that it was a good fight. Next time I should watch it though. I smile and walk to Tobias.

"So?" I ask curious.

"That was great. I never knew you could do stuff like that" he says with admiration.

"Well, I only recently learned it. But I wanted to get better to show you that it was okay to train and be combat ready when necessary" I say seriously.

"I still don't want you to fight. You might get hurt" he says and I want to protest but he puts his index finger on my lips making me stay quiet. I kiss the tip of his finger just the way he always does and he smiles. "But I understand why you felt you should do it. I was wondering how you put on that much muscle from just this girly stuff you said you were doing. Now I get it."

"I'm sorry I lied" I say bashful.

"I wasn't really the poster boy for listening. You were right. You went through the same training like anyone else here. All the women did. It isn't fair of us to assume that you are weak just because you are women. In fact, I think you are very strong, but my protector self just kicks in whenever you or anyone else mentions fighting. I want you to be safe, always."

"I know and I appreciate your concern. I love you" I say and he smiles brightly at me.

"I love you too" he says before placing a chaste kiss on my lips. "Come on. You must be famished" he says and as if on cue my stomach growls loudly.

We head back to the cafeteria followed by most Dauntless and I can't wait to eat something. I haven't noticed it before but I'm really, really hungry. I enter first and unlike before the cafeteria is almost deserted, except for a few people who resume their places or just got off work. We go and sit at our regular table soon joined by the rest of our friends. I eat everything on my plate and eat even two slices of Dauntless cake. We stay a while after we finished eating and chat with our friends. They all avoid the painful subject of my kidnapping and focus their attention on my bad-ass fighting skills. Even Tobias, to my great surprise, recognizes the effort and good work we all put in. He even considers using these techniques to teach the new initiates next year. The guys decide to join us next time we train and I for one can't wait to kick Tobias's ass.

Too soon we say goodbye to our friends and head back home. I'm still not tired, the nap I took today after we got home was really great. I convince Tobias to sit on the couch and listen to some soft music while cuddling.

"Honey, I know you are avoiding talking about the elephant in the room to spare my feelings, but we really need to talk" I say and wait for him to say something.

"I don't want to make you go through that horrible experience again. It was painful enough to see you talk about it over and over again" he says and pulls me closer to him.

"I actually meant you, baby" I say and turn my head to look at him. He closes his eyes and sighs.

"I already told you what happened" he says.

"No, you only gave me the short version of it. You told me about who helped with the search, that you even asked Evelyn, but never once did you mention how you felt" I say and cup his face. I know it was difficult for him. I noticed every time I started telling my story he flinched. I dismissed it at first but then I realized he must have had just as a hard time as I did.

"I felt lost" he confesses. "I was so desperate to find you that I went looking for you everywhere. I thought maybe Evelyn was behind it so I went to confront her, but she swore she had nothing to do with it. I thought of telling her that Edward might be behind it, but I couldn't risk her finding out about your ability. She surprised me by getting in front of all factionless and taking your side. She told them that even though you are Dauntless now as Abnegation you used to help and feed the factionless. And she even said she wanted you unharmed" he tells me and I look at him surprised. I would have expected her to say this only to Tobias, not the entire factionless crowd. Maybe she does tell the truth. I climb on his lap and wrap my arms around his neck.

"I'm so sorry I put you through all this" I say looking into his eyes. He looks stunned at me for a moment before he starts shaking his head no.

"No, love. It's not your fault and it isn't mine either. Your father was very clear on that" he says and it's my turn to look puzzled at him. "When you were gone I blamed myself for not being beside you when you got kidnapped. He almost grounded me" Tobias says with a chuckle.

"You are not a child and even though my dad loves you like a son I doubt he would have done it. He's Abnegation, remember" I say smiling.

"He is actually great. He was a real father to me when I most needed one. He first shook me really hard to make me come to my senses and then comforted me and even held me when I cried."

"You cried?"

"A few times, but when we still had no clue where you were by Tuesday evening I simply broke down. I couldn't handle it anymore. If it wouldn't have been for your dad to kick my ass and your mom to shove food down my throat I wouldn't have been able to even get up. They were simply parents and I hope that one day I can be half the way they are with my own children" he says and my heart swells.

"My poor baby" I say and hug him tighter. I place a kiss to his temple and he wraps his arms tighter around my small frame. We stay like this for a while just enjoying this simple, yet emotional moment. When we part I kiss his lips and he smiles into it.

"I thought I would go crazy" he tells me. "I was lost without you. I love you so much, Tris. Please, never leave me" he says chocking.

"Tobias, I would never leave you. I love you just as much. All this time I was gone I was thinking of you. That was my real torture, not being with you. The physical pain was nothing compared to the one in my heart. I wanted to contact you but I had no clue where I was. I didn't want to get your hopes up. I'm sorry. If I would have known the torture you had to endure I would have done it."

"How did you find out anyway? You never told me" he says and I realize his right.

"Our son came to me" I say smiling. "I was lying down on the mattress when he came. He told me you were worried about me. I knew I was dreaming, but seeing him gave me hope and strength and I asked him if he knew where I was. He told me that in the old factory near the fence. I decided to check it out the moment I got out of my cell and could project myself and explore further. That's what I did and I was able to contact you" I tell him and he looks at me serious while stroking my hair. "How did you get there so quick?"

"I had help" he says vaguely still stroking my hair but avoiding my gaze.

"Tobias" I say and he knows I need more than that as an answer.

"Evelyn" he says sighing loudly. "I told you I went to ask her for help. Her teams explored the abandoned parts of the city. We figured whoever kidnapped you might not hide you in one of the factions. Everyone knows by now that you are a council member and that the council would order the factions to be searched. So most likely you were held somewhere outside. And the factionless know the city better than anyone. I always went searching with the factionless, while Dwayne coordinated the Dauntless search party. And then you contacted me and I was so thankful that I went with my mother's team instead of Dwayne's because I was nearby when you called me" he says finally looking at me, a smile grazing his handsome features. I pull his head down and kiss him fiercely, pouring my soul into it and silently telling him how much I love and need him. He turns us so that I'm now lying on my back and he lies on top of me. He looks deep into my eyes as if to ask for my permission. I nod slightly and he smiles bending down and kissing me passionately. I really need this now. I need him. I need to feel connected to him. I need him inside me. I need him to love me only the way he knows how.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for the reviews.
> 
> A few things: while I read your reviews a few questions/requests stood out. For instance, I was asked to let Tris fight and show Tobias how bad-ass she really is. Which I did. I hope you liked that part. Also, I was made aware to not outstretch it with Tris's guilt trip. Tris was born and raised in Abnegation, she has the aptitude for it, but she's also Dauntless. She won't spend days or months drowning in self pity and guilt, but she needed to go through the regret and guilt part not only to make her stronger for the future (whatever may happen there) but also to show that it's both okay to be vulnerable even as a Dauntless leader and that her faction, which she considers an extension of her family is supportive and will always love and protect her. I think it was a good moment in the story for the Dauntless to show their leader how much she means to them, especially because she is a good person and cares about all of them. Tobias also needed to be a little vulnerable because let's face it you can't say you love someone, go through a fucked up situation like they did and not feel anything. It's not realistic. Besides I wanted to give Tobias the opportunity to fall apart and be glued together by "parents" even if they are surrogate ones and let Andrew and Natalie really be a part of this new life Tris is now sharing with Tobias, with all the ups and downs. I also thought, actually while writing this very note, to write a short one-shot about Tobias's inner turmoil and how Andrew and Natalie help him through it. It won't be as long as the other one - Tris is missing - maybe a few hundred words, 500 maybe. I'll think about it.
> 
> What did you think of Tris's kick-ass fight with Lauren?
> 
> Should they include these moves when teaching the new arrivals in the summer? 
> 
> How about a ladies fight club?
> 
> Reviews as always highly welcomed.


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey everybody. I wrote another one-shot from Tobias's POV named Tobias, pull yourself together - You and me against the world Tie-in. Read it before this chapter. This one is a happy one and the one-shot is about Tobias's breakdown during Tris's absence.
> 
> Warning! Explicit content!

48

On Saturday I ask Tobias to go shopping. I give him a list but he doesn't know what I'm up to. Since I never got to make him that birthday dinner I will do it today. I managed to get Zeke and the other guys to convince Tobias to go out for a drink, but I made them promise me not to get him drunk. I still need my man sober. I also told Tobias that Shauna is coming over to talk to me and that we needed some girl time alone. He wanted to protest, but gave in. I only had to promise not to leave the apartment. At all. I promised since I had a lot to do.

We eat lunch together, some mac and cheese and a fruit salad. He wanted to go down to the cafeteria and get us Dauntless cake but I told him I wanted some fruits. He obliged of course. We are going to have cake, the one that I'm going to make. Soon after we finish cleaning up and a knock on the door announces the arrival of our friends. Tobias kisses me goodbye and leaves with the guys, while Shauna stays. I asked Christina, Marlene and Lynn not to be upset, but I wanted some time alone with Shauna.

"So, what are you up too?" Shauna asks me while sitting at my kitchen island.

"What do you mean?" I ask innocently.

"You don't fool me" she says grinning.

"I don't know what you are talking about" I say trying to hide my own grin, but fail terribly.

"If you don't tell me now I'll smack you senseless" she says and I look at her with wide eyes. "Yeah, that's right, you don't want to mess with mama."

"Alright. But this is top secret" I say and lean forward on the kitchen island and whisper "I want to cook a romantic dinner for him. We both went through so much lately I just wanted a normal night, just the two of us."

"I think that's a great idea, Tris" she says smiling. "You both deserve a quiet night, no responsibilities, no work, just the two of you. Until the baby comes" she says. Oh, she doesn't know.

"I'm not pregnant" I say in a lower voice and trying to avoid her eyes.

"Oh" is all she says. She probably doesn't know what to say.

"It's okay" I say looking up at her, tears gathered in my eyes. "We weren't ready yet. But we will be. One day" I say and a single tear runs down my right cheek. Shauna gets up from her seat and hugs me tightly. I let the other tears fall as well and allow Shauna to comfort me, like a sister would. "Thank you for everything" I say when Shauna lets go of me.

"You're welcome. You and Four are family and everyone loves you. So, how can I help?" she asks.

"You don't have to" I say but she shakes her head.

"That's out of the question. My sister needs help and I'm going to give it to her" Shauna says firmly.

"Alright." We both start cooking and I tell her what to do and we end up talking about all kinds of things. From Dauntless initiation to babies to how dumb guys can be. I teach her how to bake a real Dauntless cake and make her swear not to tell anyone where I got it from. Around five p.m. the food is almost ready and the cake is already in the fridge to cool down. I set the table for two and put on some romantic music. Shauna left half an hour ago and texted Zeke to send Tobias home. I took a quick shower and put on some sexy lingerie and one of my new black lace thigh long dress and head downstairs. I light candles on every available surface creating an enchanted ambiance when I hear the door unlock. I sit down on the couch and put the lighter on the coffee table and let Tobias soak in my surprise.

"You like it?" I ask from where I'm sitting and Tobias jumps up surprised. He hasn't seen me.

"You startled me" he says and walks over to me. "Wow, this looks amazing" he says still looking around the apartment. He finally reaches the couch and looks at me, his eyes nearly popping out. "God damn, you look hot" he says, his mouth hanging open.

"Thank you" I say blushing, although I doubt he can see it. He sits down next to me and looks me over with a predatory spark in his eyes. "Nah-ah" I say and gesture with my right index finger "no". "Dinner then dessert" I say and his eyes lock with mine.

"You made dinner?" he asks.

"Yup. You hungry?" I ask hoping he is, 'cause I sure am.

"Starving, actually." We both get up and Tobias wants to go into the kitchen, but I grab his wrist to stop him.

"No, you go into the dining room. Dinner will be served momentarily" I say.

"I can help you" he says but I shake my head no.

He does as I asked him and takes off his jacket and sits down. I bring in the entrée and ask him to open the wine bottle I prepared. While he is opening the bottle I walk back into the kitchen to get the main course. I set it down in the middle of the table and take a seat adjacent to Tobias. He pours some wine in my glass and then some in his own and we take a sip each.

"I hope you like it" I say shyly.

"I'm sure I'll love it. It looks and smells great though. May I ask what the occasion is?"

"I wanted to do something nice for you, also I had this planned for your birthday, but we never got the chance to properly celebrate."

"Thank you, this is wonderful" he says to me and smiles brightly. "So, this is why you wanted me out of the house."

"Guilty" I say and lean forward to kiss him. When we part he rests his forehead on mine and I sigh happily. "Let's eat."

We eat the home cooked meal and leisurely talk about little things. When we're done I clear the table and put all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I get two plates and two forks and place them on the dining table, one in front of Tobias and one where I sit. I then return to the kitchen to retrieve the cake and grab a big knife to cut it.

"You should cut it. It's your cake after all" I say and hand him the knife. He gets up from his seat and cuts us each a slice. He hands me my plate and then puts a slice on his. I let him take the first bite and wait to see what he has to say.

"Wow, this is delicious. Te cafeteria really made one hell of a cake" he says and I giggle. He looks at me with a curious expression on his face and asks "what?"

"It's not from the cafeteria" I say laughing lightly. He looks down at his cake and then back to me.

"Where then?"

"I made it. For you" I say.

"Really? Oh my God, Tris. This is the most delicious Dauntless cake I've ever eaten" he says devouring the rest.

"I'm glad you like it. I really hoped it would turn out good" I say eating my cake.

"Good? Honey, it's divine. Where did you learn to do this?" he asks.

"Mom taught me the recipes for the entrée and the main course and I've got the recipe for the cake from Ms. Stone. But I changed it a little. I thought to try something out" I tell him.

"This is absolutely wonderful. Thank you, love. This is the best birthday I've ever had" he says and gets up. He holds out his hand and I take it getting up myself. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my shoulder. "You are becoming a real housewife" he says with a chuckle.

"Practice makes perfect" I reply with a grin.

"Yeah. Tris?" he says, his voice a little unsteady.

"Yes?"

"I need to talk to you. Come on, let's sit down on the couch." We go and sit and we face each other, Tobias all serious and I wonder what is wrong now.

"What is it Tobias?" I ask after a while.

"When you were gone I felt so lost and helpless. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I wanted to punch something, but more importantly I wanted you back in my arms" he says and my heart breaks for him. I was the one gone but he suffered just as much or maybe even more.

"I'm so sorry that you were in so much pain" I say.

"Don't be, sweetheart. It wasn't your fault" he says caressing my cheek and I lean into his touch. "I love you more than anything in this world. I knew that I fell in love with you the moment our eyes met and I loved you ever since. The first time I kissed you something changed inside me. I knew I couldn't live another day without kissing your soft lips. The moment you said I love you I was the happiest man alive and each time you repeat it I feel like I can conquer anything, because you give me the strength to do it. The first time we made love and I was buried deep inside you I knew that this is where I belong, this is home. And then you show me our still unborn son and I could see my whole life with you and our children. I don't want to spend another day without you and I want the whole city to know that you are mine and I am yours. Therefore" he says and kneels down before me "Beatrice Prior, would you do me the incredible honor" he pulls out a small black velvet box from his pants and opens it revealing a beautiful white gold ring with a huge black rose-cut diamond on top and surrounded by a halo of smaller clear diamonds and I gasp at the sight of it "of becoming my wife?" he asks and tears start running down my cheeks. I look from the ring to him and back to the ring several times, my mouth hanging open, my heart pounding so hard in my chest that I feel it will jump out any minute. I am so happy in this moment that I swear I could die. I only manage to nod before Tobias smiles and crashes his lips over mine kissing me hungrily. When we part he looks into my eyes and I see tears glistening in his.

"Yes" I finally say "I want to marry you. Oh my God, I love you so much" I say and kiss him fiercely again. Tobias sits back down on the couch and I straddle his lap and we make out for a long while until he pulls back and I automatically pout. He chuckles.

"Don't you want to put it on?" he asks and I look at him confused. He shows me the box with the precious ring and I nod eagerly. He takes out the ring and slides it on my left slender ring finger. I hold my hand up and study it carefully, as much as the dim light in the room allows me anyway.

"It's beautiful, Tobias. But it must have cost a fortune" I say and he shakes his head.

"Nothing is too expensive for my beautiful bride" he says smiling brightly and I light up when I hear him say that. "Why don't we move this celebration upstairs?" he asks with a smirk and I blush understanding the implications. I get off of him and allow him to get up as well. He picks me up bridal style and carries me upstairs and into the bedroom. I giggle the whole time excited for what is about to come. He lays me down in the middle of the bed and turns the lights on, but not too bright, creating an ambiance similar to the one downstairs. He takes off his shoes and lies on top of me, without putting any weight on me. We start kissing and I let my hands roam over his body up and down. I grab the hem of his skin tight tee shirt and pull it over his head exposing his marvelous body. He smiles mischievously at me and a blush spreads over my face. Tobias bends down and kisses and sucks lightly my earlobe and travels down to my neck and further to my collarbone where he gives special attention to my ravens. His right hand travels to my left aching breast and he starts kneading while placing soft kisses on top of the other. I feel the heat rising and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep it together much longer. He is so wonderful at what he is doing. His hand leaves my breast and goes straight to where I need it the most. He runs two fingers over my already wet panties and smirks at me.

"I need you" I say breathlessly.

He slides down and positions his face right in front of my womanhood breathing in the unmistakable scent of my arousal.

"I love the way you smell when you are horny" he says and I blush a deep shade of red. We are more at ease in these moments than any other time, but it's still odd for me to talk so freely. "It means I turn you on and that turns me on" he says grinning. "Did you know that I sometimes get a boner from just thinking of this scent? I have a real hard time calming down then" he confesses.

He starts kissing the inside of my right thigh than switches sides and peppers kisses up my leg until he reaches the hem of my panties. He grabs it with his teeth and pulls down gently, first on the right, then on the left side until they are off of me and on the floor. I can barely breathe from the anticipation and I almost come when his velvet tongue circles my throbbing clit. I draw in a lungful of air waiting for what is about to happen next. He plays with my clit, teasing and biting it lightly and I moan loudly. He starts licking my entrance and pushes his tongue every now and then making me go crazy. I lift my hips to get even closer to his talented mouth and he smiles. He gets a hold of my hips keeping me steady on the bed although I try to lift them anyway. He pushes his tongue even deeper inside me and stimulates my nubbin with his right thumb. I feel the familiar pleasure wave approach and grab a fistful of his hair pushing his face closer to my pussy until sweet release washes over me and I throw my head back crying out his name. He still licks and bites and sucks when I start coming down from my high and I have to ask him to stop otherwise I'll really go crazy.

"That was fucking amazing" I say. "You know, you are really good at this" I say with a smirk on my face and he laughs lightly. He lies next to me and caresses my cheek. We lean in and kiss each other. When we part we smile like two goofballs.

"I was so nervous when I proposed" he confesses.

"Really? You seemed so sure" I say a little surprised at his admission.

"I am sure. I mean I am very sure that I love you and I want to marry you. I wasn't sure if you would say yes" he says and I stare at him stunned.

"Why would you think that?" I ask playing with his hair on the back of his neck.

"We are young and I don't want to rush you" he says.

"Yeah, we are. But just because we got engaged doesn't mean we have to get married right away. And of course I want to marry you. I always wanted that. But this week I realized that even though we are young we belong together, no matter what. I want to be your wife more than anything" I say leaning in and kiss him tenderly.

"What do you mean by not right away?" he asks after we part and I give him a puzzled look. "You said we don't have to get married right away. To be honest, if it were up to me we would get married tomorrow" he says.

"Come on, baby. I would like to get married in the summer, if it's okay with you. We still have so much work to do and I really want a honeymoon" I say and he laughs lightly.

"I'll give you anything you want. But don't make me wait too long" he says. "I don't know if I can take it this long."

"How about June?" I ask. "It's warm and by then we have enough time to plan everything, both wedding and honeymoon and leave everything in order around here."

"June? You make me wait that long?" he asks pouting and I laugh.

"Oh, baby, June will come sooner than we think" I say caressing his face.

"But it's going to be problematic" he says and I raise an eyebrow. "The new initiates" he says.

"They will choose on June 1st. We can escape for a week in June and then take a leave later, after initiation" I explain. Tobias pulls out his phone and checks something.

"How about June 4th?" he asks showing me the calendar on his phone. I look at it and realize it's a Saturday.

"That'll be great. We can get married June 4th, be gone for a week and return Monday June 13th to torture the new initiates. Until then Lauren and maybe Uriah could train them and when we get back we can test them. What do you say?"

"I think we just picked a date" he says smiling.

"I guess we need to start planning" I say.

"But could we do it later?" he asks and I turn to look at him, a devilish spark in his eyes. I put his phone on the nightstand and turn back to look at my man.

"You know, there's something I always wanted to do" I say with a wide grin on my face.

"What?" he asks curiously.

"Could you pull down the cover and prepare a bed sheet?" I ask.

"Why?"

"Just do it. I'll be right back" I say and walk out of the room. I walk downstairs and go into the kitchen to retrieve the whipped cream from the fridge and then go to retrieve the cake from the dining table, when a thought crosses my mind. I take my dress and bra off and leave them on the floor. I shake the whipped cream and then spray a generous amount over my womanhood. It's cold and my nipples stand erect. I think of doing the same thing with my breasts but then decide to cover them with cake. I cover both mounds with a thick layer of Dauntless cake and proceed to go back upstairs where I can here soft ballads in the background. I peek inside the room and see Tobias's clothes discarded on the floor. Seems like great minds think alike. I enter the room swaying my hips as seductively as I can and when Tobias sees me his mouth hangs open and his manhood stands erect, twitching in anticipation.

"Fuck, Tris" he says and jumps up from the bed. He takes two huge steps toward me and grabs the cake out of my hands. He puts it on the nightstand nearest to us and returns his attention to me.

"I thought since you liked my cake that much you might want some more" I say alluringly.

"Definitely" he says before dropping to his knees and licking the cream of my womanhood. He sucks lightly on my clit and pushes his tongue deep inside me and I moan loudly. When I'm completely clean he travels up my body, his tongue never leaving my body until he reaches my breasts and starts licking and sucking on the left one. When he's satisfied that there's nothing left on it he switches to the right one and by now my juices are overflowing. There's nothing I want more in this moment than be connected to the man I love, but I still want us to have some fun. When he's done with my right breast I push him lightly backwards until he falls on the bed and I straddle his hips. I bend down and kiss him tasting the delicious cake on his tongue. We both moan contently and Tobias lets his hands travel up and down my naked body. I pull back slightly and kiss the tip of his nose before I reach for the cake. I grab a handful and rub it on his chest and a little over his lips. I take another one and rub his dick with it and a guttural moan escapes his lips. I smirk and watch him carefully. I lie down on my side and kiss his lips, licking off the chocolate. I travel along his neck down to his collar and nibble lightly. I let my tongue trail along the chocolate path I traced until I reach his navel and suck on it, eliciting a deep groan. When I finally reach my destination I open my mouth wide and take as much of him in as I can. I suck on him hard and he puts his hand over my head pushing me lightly down on his shaft. I remove my mouth with a loud "pop" and lick the rest of his impressive length and give some special attention to his testicles. I lick and suck them and I feel him tense up. He is close. "I can't hold back any longer" he says panting.

"Then don't. Come for me, baby" I boldly say, surprising even me a little bit. I take him in my mouth again and suck, while stroking the rest of his shaft. I increase the speed until he tenses up and releases his seed in my mouth. I remove my mouth and crawl back up and into his arms. He holds me close to his chest and I can feel his rapid heart rate. I trail my right index finger over his chest swiping the sweat away.

"Thank you, love" he says breathless. "I love you."

"I love you too. I have to admit you were more delicious than usual" I say and he laughs whole heartily from deep inside his belly.

"I could say the same about you, but then again you are always delicious."

"You up for round three?" I ask looking up at him.

"Aren't you insatiable" he says stroking my hair.

"So what? Are you?" I ask staring at him.

"You can bet your sweet, little butt" he says and flips us over. I let out a surprised yelp and start laughing.

Our love game continues until late at night with short pauses to eat some more cake (off of each other) until we are so exhausted that we fall back on the now dirty, sticky sheet. Tobias gathers me up in his arms and kisses my forehead.

"I can't believe we are engaged" I say happily.

"Me neither. But I'm very happy" he says and I look up to him.

"I'm too. I can't wait to tell the girls and my parents. I wonder what they will say."

"I don't know about the girls or even the guys, but your parents already know" he says surprising me.

"What do you mean?" I ask confused.

"Remember when you walked into my office and found your dad there. You figured that something was up, but we wouldn't tell you" he says and I nod remembering the moment. "Back then I only discussed what my plans are for the future. We discussed it at length. I only asked your parents both for your hand in marriage a few days ago, after I got you back. I realized I couldn't live without you and I wanted to make you mine forever."

"Oh my God!" I say gasping. "This is so sweet and romantic. I swear, if someone would have told me back in June that this handsome, yet closed up guy is so romantic and sweet I wouldn't have believed a single word. Imagine what the faction would say if they would know that fierce and frightening Four is such a cute softie" I say giggling.

"Well, they don't need to know that, only my soon to be wife" he says kissing my lips gently.

"I don't even want to know what the girls will put me through these next few months. I can already hear Christina tell me about spas and nails and hair styles and all that" I say amused.

"Let's hope the guys don't get the same bug and put me through that as well" he says and we both laugh.

We keep talking a little while longer until fatigue gets to us and we fall asleep in each other's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, what did you think about the proposal?
> 
> What about Tris's bold new approach?
> 
> I want to thank you guys for reviewing. These ides came from you. So thank you.
> 
> After you read this I have a second one-shot named I think I wanna marry you. It's the moment Tobias asks Natalie and Andrew for Tris's hand in marriage. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> And as always, can't wait to read from you.
> 
> Tris's engagement ring 
> 
> http://www.mkdiamonds.com/14k-white-and-black-gold-rose-cut-black-diamond-engagement-ring.html


	49. Chapter 49

49

"Honey, if you don't hurry we'll be late" Tobias shouts.

"I'll be right down" I shout back. I check everything. I've got my keys, my new phone and my warm winter jacket. I put it on and hurry downstairs. I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve.

After my kidnapping and Tobias's proposal our life seemed to get back on track. On Monday right after I got back I returned to work, more determined than ever to do a good job. Tori is a great addition to our leader team. I'm so glad Tobias suggested her. After she and Dwayne came out publicly everyone was so happy for both. They are good friends and they both deserve to be happy. She actually moved in on the same floor with Tobias and me, across the hall. After a long talk with Dwayne he decided to move in with her and now Tobias can be even calmer when it comes to my protection. My own personal bodyguard lives across the hall from us. We invited Dwayne and Tori over a couple of times. Tori told me a few stories about Tobias when he was an initiate making sure to avoid any kind of information about his true identity.

When the girls found out on Sunday after my kidnapping that Tobias and I are engaged they literally freaked out. The guys weren't any better. All of our friends congratulated us and wished us the best. They actually started planning, one idea more crazy then the other and they even argued a little too wildly about it until Tobias shouted out loud to make them stop. I had to promise the girls that we would do all the wedding stuff together, like picking out my wedding gown and the flowers and all that other stuff. I have to say I'm a little jealous of Tobias. The guys only made him promise to go out with them for a drink before the wedding to celebrate his last bachelor days and that he wouldn't stop hanging out with his friends once he got hitched.

The women fight club happened. Many Dauntless women signed up, mostly to get back in shape but also to be able to protect themselves from potential attackers. It's not the same like initiation, but it helps them stay fit and focused. Even a few men signed up to learn a few moves. Tobias agreed to teach the initiates a few of these moves since they are not hard to learn and easy to master. At least that's what he thinks because so far he hasn't tried them out yet. A few times people in the training room wanted us to fight, but Tobias refused on the grounds that I might call of the wedding if it turns out he is a better fighter than I am. It was a good laugh for those present, but I know why he's refusing it. He is afraid he might accidentally hurt me. I stopped pressuring him. I know him well by now to know that it would be futile to even try. Uriah however had no problems with that. Tobias gave him a dirty look, but I gave Tobias one in return, when he tried to convince me not to fight Uriah. I told him that I can't properly learn how to defend myself if I don't fight a man every once in a while. Men and women move differently during fights and if he wants me to be safe and be able to protect myself I need to practice. He finally gave in and I had my fight with Uriah. He stepped into the ring very confident and most men cheered for him, while the women, including my friends, cheered for me. Tobias just stood next to the mat watching carefully. The fight ended sooner than most thought. I pinned down Uriah in no time. Zeke then stepped in for his brother even though Tobias protested. Before he faced me however he whispered something in Tobias's ear that made him let out a breath. I can only assume that Zeke told him that he would hold back, because that's what he did. When I yelled at him and called him a pansycake and afraid of hitting a girl he seemed to react, but still restrained himself. Then Shauna, knowing what I'm capable of, told him that if he doesn't fight like a man she will tell their baby that it's father is a pansycake. Upon hearing that he changed his attitude and fought me for real. I could hear Tobias growl in frustration, but then I kicked Zeke's butt so hard that he needed Dwayne to help him back up. I even challenged Dwayne, but he refused categorically. Wouldn't have thought it otherwise. He is loyal to Tobias till the end. He would never do something to upset him and especially not hurt me. I can't blame him though. Tobias is okay now with the fighting. He saw firsthand what I'm capable of and trusts me. However, he made it a point to always be present during training. While I spar with one of the girls he is at the punching bag punching the crap out of it. I don't mind. I love seeing him work out. And I love washing the sweat off of him later. Or even add some, if you know what I mean.

There's still no news on my attack or the attacker. No one in the factions recognized him so Tobias talked to Evelyn. She claimed she didn't know him either but she would ask around. So far, no luck. She came to visit us a few more times and I have to say that I started enjoying her company. We avoid talking about the past as much as possible. I know it's painful for Tobias and I could see it's no joyride for her either. She was very supportive when Tobias told her that we are engaged, like she expected it. I made it a habit to be honest with her and say what's on my mind and she does the same. I asked her if she is truly okay with me and Tobias getting married. She told me she saw how much he suffered when I was gone and that her heart broke for him every time she saw him like that. Even though she had a completely different opinion about me in the beginning, after she got to know me she started liking me. And as long as her son loves me she won't do anything to hurt me. However, she made it a point to warn me that if I ever hurt him she would hurt me. I nodded in understanding and thought of my own parents issuing that same threat toward Tobias. She does love him, even if it's in a weird way.

Marcus kept amazingly quiet this whole time. When Candor officials asked him if he had anything to do with my kidnapping he said no and even offered to go under truth serum. He didn't. It wasn't necessary. Until further evidence surfaces the case is put cold and we are still nowhere near the truth than the day I was kidnapped.

The best thing about Christmas are the decorations. When Tobias came home two weeks ago with our Christmas tree I immediately wanted to decorate it, but since we had no decorations I grabbed his hand and dragged him to the Pit where we bought everything we needed to make one hell of a good looking Christmas tree. We ate our supper and then spend the next two hours decorating it. When everything was done Tobias dimmed down the lights in the room and turned on the colorful lights of our first Christmas tree. I think I spend another hour just looking at it. It completely mesmerized me. I scheduled an appointment with Tori tonight to get a new tattoo. It's a Christmas gift for Tobias, but I need to be careful. I don't want him to see it before tomorrow night. He already knows I'm going to meet Tori later, but he thinks I'm helping her get a Christmas present for Dwayne.

I hurry downstairs because Tobias is waiting for me to go to my parents. They invited us for lunch and we seize the opportunity to bring them their Christmas gifts. I know that Abnegation rules forbid gift giving, but I don't think this would be such a bad thing. We got my dad a new phone with more storage capacity so that he can store phone numbers and have a detailed schedule right in his pocket. For mom we got a cooking book. Since Caleb and I left she started cooking a lot. I convinced the council to refurbish an old diner near the factionless sector. Abnegation volunteers work there twice a week. Mom and two other women cook while four other volunteers serve the food and clean up. Unlike before the factionless can actually eat a warm home cooked meal. The idea was received at first with raised eyebrows, especially when it came to the financial part of it. I talked to Evelyn and asked her if some of the factionless would help us out, volunteer to refurbish the place. Each faction donates goods and food anyways. Why not have a place where these poor people can actually enjoy a calm, warm home cooked meal. Some of the factionless volunteered and together with the Abnegation they did a great job. Since the diner is exclusively for the factionless mom decided to cook dishes from several factions. This is why Caleb told me he would get mom a cooking book with specific Erudite dishes, while I decided on a Dauntless one. Cara's best friend came from Amity and Cara got mom an Amity cook book, while I got another one, thanks to Jack, from Candor. I also baked mom and dad a Dauntless cake, since I know by now that everyone in my family loves my cake.

"Ready?" Tobias asks smiling.

"Yeah. Where are the presents? And the cake?" I ask looking around.

"Already in the car. You'll have to hold the cake though to avoid it falling off the backseat" he says and I nod. We leave the apartment and head downstairs to the car. I get in and hold the cake in my lap and Tobias drives off.

"Isn't it a bit too late?" Tobias asks all of a sudden.

"Huh? What?"

"Isn't it too late?" he asks again.

"For what?"

"Tori getting Dwayne a Christmas present."

"Oh, that. She thought of a few things, but she can't decide and wanted a second opinion. I told her she should get him what she things he would like the most, since she knows him best, but I guess she still wants my opinion" I answer. I expected him to ask me that so I figured to have an answer ready for when it happens.

"Alright. Let's see if we have presents for all of our friends" he says and I nod. "We've got a brand new leather jacket for Zeke, silver earrings with one small red ruby each for Shauna, a silver necklace with a dark Dauntless-flame pendant for Marlene, new combat boots for Lynn, a coupon for 10 free Dauntless cakes at the confectionery store for Uriah, a new premium pencil set for Tori, who loves to draw, a multi-usage combat knife for Dwayne, a cocktail dress for Christina, a new watch for Will, a silver brooch with black crystals for Cara and a history book on factions for Caleb. Did I forget anyone?" he asks and I have to think for a moment.

"Evelyn. You forgot her" I say.

"I didn't forget her. I mean I forgot to mention her, but I have a present. Remember that picture you took with your new phone the first time she came over after we got engaged?" he asks and I nod. "I printed it and framed it for her. It's our first picture together" he says smiling. He really loves his mom, even if he hasn't said anything, to me or her.

"That's great. That means I still need to find something for her" I say.

"Why?" he asks glancing my way.

"Because the picture is your gift. It's personal and special. I'm going to get her something too. Something that says I haven't forgotten you, I just don't think you are so special" I say and Tobias laughs.

"Oh cut it out. I've seen you two. You get along really well. And I have to say, I think she's honest about how she feels about you. I really think she likes you" he says watching the snow covered road.

"Well, she's not the worst person in the world, I have to admit. And it seems to me too that she really tries to build an honest relationship, not just with you, but with me as well. And I'm happy about it. I know you never said it out loud but I know you well enough by now to know that you love her and want her close to you" I say and he looks at me smiling.

"You do know me" he says laughing lightly.

"Any idea what I should get her?" I ask really not knowing what I should get my future mother in law. I don't know her that well. Then again, neither does Tobias.

"How about a book?" he suggests.

"About?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know. A novel. A romance maybe."

"Somehow she doesn't seem the type" I say.

"How about some jewelry. A necklace or a bracelet?"

"Maybe" I say staring out my window. I think for a while of what I could get her. She doesn't belong to any faction so it doesn't have to be themed. Then again, maybe this would make it easier to find a proper gift. I could get her a book, but I don't know what she likes. Same goes for music, assuming she has a stereo of some sort. Maybe a necklace would be the right gift. Something simple, something that says she is important enough to think of her, but not something that might say I forgot all the shit you did and how you abandoned the love of my life when he needed you the most. I think I'll stop by the jewelry store when we get back to Dauntless.

We soon pull up in front of my parents house in Abnegation and Tobias gets out, running around and opens my car door. He takes the cake off of me allowing me to get out. He hands the cake back and gets the Christmas gifts from the backseat before he locks our car. We walk together side by side, Tobias putting his left hand on the small of my back, and we knock on the front door. Almost immediately the door swings open revealing my dad smiling at us.

"Hi dad" I say and he bends down and kisses my cheek.

"Hello sweetheart. Come in" he says. "Hello, son" he says to Tobias and they both hug briefly before Tobias follows me inside.

"Hey, sis" Caleb says from the couch. He gets up to get the cake and I thank him.

"Hey Caleb" I say and give him a peck on the cheek.

"Hello Caleb" Tobias says.

"Hello, brother" Caleb says. Ever since the initial shock regarding my engagement wore off Caleb called and treated Tobias like a brother. They both smile at the nickname and my dad gathers our coats to put them away.

"Where's mom?" I ask.

"In the kitchen with Cara" my dad answers.

"I'll go help them. I'll leave you guys talk about men stuff" I say and get the cake from Caleb. I walk into the kitchen and both mom and Cara turn around and smile when they see me.

"Hi mom, hi Cara" I say.

"Hello sweetheart" mom says, coming over to hug me.

"Hi Tris. Please tell me that's a Dauntless cake" she says. Yup, everyone loves my cake. I grin widely and put it in the fridge. "You know, I've tried to bake one myself, but it never is as good as yours. What's your secret?" she inquires.

"Can't tell you" I say putting on an apron.

"Why not?" she asks confused.

"Otherwise it wouldn't be a secret. If it helps, not even Four knows it and he knows everything. We have no secrets. Except for this one" I say and the three of us laugh.

I help mom finish cooking while Cara serves the men some coffee. I take advantage of her absence because I want to ask mom something.

"Mom, I need your advice" I say and she looks at me curiously. "I need to get Evelyn a Christmas present. We are having her over on Saturday for lunch and I need to get her something."

"I don't know how I can help you, honey. I barely knew her when she was living here. And now I only know what Tobias and you tell me. How is she acting around you anyway?" mom asks a little concerned.

"Both Tobias and I think she is honest about trying to build a relationship with her son. She is also nice to me. If she's pretending than I have to say she is a very good actress. But I think it's genuine. We decided from the beginning to be honest. I tell what I like or dislike about her and she does the same. I do believe that there are things she is withholding from us, but unless I have some proof I can't go and accuse her of anything. She is actually pleased by what we did for the factionless, the diner I mean" I say and mom nods. "I think she understands that I really want to help them, but I can't if she would stay in the way. They respect and follow her and I don't want to lose her support."

"Spoken like a true politician" my mom says smirking.

"Yeah, I guess all those meetings with the council and the Dauntless staff really made me one. But bottom line is I want to help. Not just my faction, but all of them. I'm so glad that the council accepted my petition to loosen the rules regarding the visitation between factions."

"I think that's one of the best decisions the council could have made. So many people choose to change factions and I truly find it unfair and unreasonable to deny parents to see their children. Just because you and Caleb chose different factions doesn't mean I will stop loving you or forget I ever had you. Am I sad? A little. But as long as you two are happy me and your father are happy as well" she says and I suddenly feel the urge to hug her. I do so and Cara walks in and looks at us surprised.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt" she says apologetically.

"It's okay, sweetheart" my mom says and opens her arms to welcome Cara as well. Now all three of us stand in the middle of the kitchen hugging each other and forgetting the rest of the world. I hear a click and then another one and turn to look from where the sound came from. In the door way are Caleb and Tobias, both with their phones in hand and smirking.

"Jealous?" I ask them.

"Not at all" Caleb says.

"Speak for yourself" Tobias says and I open my arms for him, but he goes and hugs mom.

"Hey" I say pouting. He turns around laughing and picks me, kissing me softly on the lips before putting me back down.

"Lunch is ready" mom says.

"Let me help you" Tobias offers and mom accepts smiling. Between the four of us the dining table soon is filled with delicious food and we all sit down and dad says grace. We eat and leisurely talk about the upcoming festivities and how nice it is to have a family meal.

"Have you picked out a dress?" Cara asks me.

"For what?" I ask her in return, confused by what she means.

"Your wedding" she answers laughing lightly.

"Uhm, no. Not yet" I answer. "I had a lot of work these past weeks. But I had to promise the girls to look for one as soon as possible."

"How about wedding bands?" she inquires further.

"Not yet. Actually" I say when I see her open her mouth again "before you ask anything else. We haven't gotten anything for the wedding, yet."

"But we're going to after New Year's" Tobias says.

"Are you planning on having the wedding inside the Dauntless compound or outside" Caleb asks.

"What exactly wasn't clear when I said that we haven't done anything regarding the wedding?" I ask sarcastically.

"Just asking" Caleb says defensive.

"We don't know yet. Why? Do you have a location in mind?" Tobias asks taking a sip from his second cup of coffee.

"I've heard the council is planning on renovating the park near the Navy Pier" Caleb says and looks toward dad.

"We have been discussing it" dad answers vaguely.

"Really? When?" I ask.

"The day you had a dentist's appointment" my dad says. I nod. Only thing is I had an OBGYN appointment to get my shot.

"Right. So, is this going to happen?" I ask.

"We don't know yet. Samantha made some valid points as to why we should consider it" my dad says.

"Like?" I inquire further.

"For too long the inhabitants of our city let nature take over this city."

"Does this mean we hate nature now?" I ask confused.

"No. What she meant was that there are some areas that are easier to get renovated than others. We can't just let everything decay and I agree. We need to step out of the shadows we once welcomed" my dad says and I raise an eyebrow.

"I have two questions" I start but get interrupted by Caleb.

"Who are you and what have you done to my father?" he asks and mom, dad and Tobias chuckle.

"Do you mind?" I address my brother before returning my gaze to dad. "Question number one. Have you smocked something? And question number two. Seriously now, have you smocked something? How come whenever I suggest something like that I hear Tris we don't have the resources or Tris don't be childish, that's not a priority or my favorite have you lost your mind?"

"First of all, no, I haven't smocked anything. And second, you should be proud of yourself. You made the council reconsider very old and very outdated rules. You made them think larger and more complex. Or do you care that Samantha gets the credit?"

"Of course not. I like Sam. I'm just surprised that I beg for moths for some small attention and the one time I'm not there you guys start changing the city. What the hell?"

"Language" my mother says.

"Sorry, mom. But seriously now."

"I think it's a wonderful thing that you inspire people. Besides didn't you tell me that you had bigger plans for the city. Look at what you have accomplished so far. You inspire not only the council members but also random people in the city to work for society, regardless of their faction. You accomplished something no one thought possible. Thanks to you people are allowed to visit other factions without it being labeled a crime. You see problems and solve them and don't waste your time in debating about them. I honestly have to say you are a true leader. I've seen it and felt it. Whenever you lead a conversation you inspire people to get out of their shell and do some good" my dad praises

"You really think that?" I ask shyly.

"Of course I do. I'm very proud of you. I don't know where it comes from, but I'm glad you are part of the council" he says. I get up and walk over to where he is sitting at the table and hug him tightly. He eventually gets up and hugs me just as fiercely back.

Mom gets up and walks into the kitchen. When she returns she sets the cake in the middle of the table and asks dad to cut it. We each eat a slice and everyone tells me how wonderful it tastes.

"We need to get going" Tobias says after a while. I look at my watch and realize that it is getting late. I still have the appointment with Tori and I really need to go to the jewelry store. Mom never got to tell me what I should get Evelyn. Ah, well, I'll think of something on my way there. We say goodbye to my parents and drive back home. We offered to drive Caleb and Cara to their home, but they declined.

"Honey, would you mind coming with me to the jewelry store?" I ask.

"Not at all. Do you want something specific?" he asks glancing my way every now and then.

"Yeah."

"You mind telling me what?" he asks a little amused.

"A gift for your mom" I answer.

We arrive at the compound and Tobias parks the car. We get out and he locks it before grabbing my hand and leading me down to the Pit. We pass several Dauntless who wish us Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas and we return the same wishes. We reach the jewelry store and I look around to see if I can find something that says "Evelyn". I look over bracelets but none seems right. A ring would be stupid. Also earrings. I've never once seen her wear any. I look over the variety of necklaces and decide on a medium long and simple one. The only thing I still need is a pendant. There are a few with the Dauntless flame, but that would be ridiculous. She's factionless. And then it hits me.

"Do you have a circle for a pendant without anything in the middle?" I ask the jeweler. He tells us he needs to check in the back and comes back a minute later with exactly what I was looking for. A simple circle symbolizing no faction. I think she'll like it. At first I thought she was pissed for living factionless, but ever since she comes to visit us on a regular basis and I got to know her a little bit better I realized she embraces her status. The jeweler wraps it up for us and I hand it to Tobias. We climb the stairs to our apartment and I turn to the door on the right side of the hall and knock. Dwayne immediately opens it and smiles upon seeing me.

"Hello Tris" he says. "Hello Four."

"Hi Dwayne. Is Tori ready? We were supposed to meet" I say and Tori steps out.

"I'm ready. Hi Tris, hi Four. Bye Four, bye, babe" she says grabbing my hand and dragging me back to the stairs, leaving behind two puzzled men. I hear Dwayne ask Tobias if he would want to hang out and Tobias agrees.


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Chapter 50. WOW! I can't believe I got this far. Thank you all for reading this story. I hope you will enjoy the next (crossing fingers) 50 chapters just as much. At least I plan on writing 50 more :p

50

I walk down the stairs with Tori to the Pit and hurry to get to the tattoo parlor. We enter and say hi to Lynn who is working on a woman. We go backwards where Tori gave me my first tattoo – the three ravens symbolizing my family. I sit down in the chair and explain to her what I want. She smirks but doesn't say anything. I want two tattoos – one on my wrist and one where only Tobias can see it. She starts working on the one on my left wrist. It's the Roman numeral IV – plain and simple and yet it says so much. We leisurely talk about little things, about Christmas, about work, about the wedding in June. I ask her if she would like to train initiates, but she declines on the ground that she isn't the fighting type. Strange words coming from a leader of the warrior faction. When she's finally done with my wrist I admire her handiwork before she puts a sterile bandage over it. She then walks outside telling Lynn that we need privacy in here and she shouldn't enter without knocking.

Tori returns to sit on her chair in front of me and asks me to pull my pants and panties down, enough for her to work anyways. I decided on a little heart on my womanhood. Inside, written in cursive letters, the number four surrounded by the words ever and always – meaning that my love for him will be forever and always. I initially wanted it over my heart, but that's where his raven is. Besides it's here where we are most connected. This is where we will create new life together and where that life will come into this world. A bit cheesy, I admit, but I think he'll like it. If not for anything else, it's probably the most Dauntless thing I've ever done. Tori starts working and I think of everything we've been through. Many couples wouldn't have survived what we did. We fight, but never each other, at least we don't make it a point to impose our opinions on the other. And we almost never go to bed angry. Whenever, and that happened rarely, one of us went to bed still angry at the other the morning was always reserved to talking and figuring things out. We never stay mad at each other for long. We share the good and the bad times equally and that's what makes me confident we will have a good marriage. Ups and downs are part of the deal, we both knew it going into this relationship and we learn every day something new. Sometimes it's something we like, other times something we dislike. But the love we feel for each other is real and strong. When Tori is finally done with my second tattoo she hands me a mirror to look at it and it looks great. Tobias will love it. I just need to make sure to avoid getting naked in front of him. I can avoid that for at least one night, so my heart tattoo is covered. What will be harder to cover is my wrist tattoo. Maybe I can. Who knows? It's winter and I wear long sleeved shirts after all. But even if he sees it I will tell him it's an early Christmas gift. I still have got plenty of those. I bought him two new outfits for work, mostly because he wouldn't buy for the life of him something to wear unless absolutely necessary and a new pair of combat boots for when it gets warmer. Initially I wanted some winter boots, but then Zeke convinced him to buy some for during winter. I pull my panties and pants back up and thank Tori for her help. We leave the tattoo parlor and head back home. I walk over to my door when Tori's door opens and Tobias steps out.

"Did you have fun?" I ask him since he smiles.

"Yeah. We watched a comedy. You need to see it too" he says laughing.

"Okay" I say and I figure he had a beer. Or a few. "Come on, let's get you home" I say and grab his hand. We say goodbye to our friends and I unlock and open the door. I decide to make a salami pizza and Tobias puts the Christmas gifts we got from Caleb and Cara under the Christmas tree. Mom and dad gave us a book of love poems. Dad got it for mom when they were dating and it became a symbol of their love. They wanted us to have it. I thought it was one of the most thoughtful gifts anyone has ever given me, because it means that they not only accept my relationship with Tobias they encourage it, which makes me even happier. I shed a tear or two and Tobias pulled me in a tight embrace whispering in my ear how much he loved me.

When the pizza is done I call Tobias into the kitchen after he took a shower. He sits down at the island and waits for me to join him. We eat our meal and he tells me about the movie. I promise him that we could watch it tomorrow, since we are staying home again.

"Tris?"

"Yeah?"

"Any chance you can make your famous chocolate chip cookies?" he asks and I chuckle.

"I don't know about famous" I say. "But sure. Is it okay if I make them tomorrow? It's kind of late and I am tired" I say.

"Of course. Actually, I'm going to help you" he says getting up and gathering our dirty dishes.

"You mean like last time when you ate half of the cookie dough?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"What? I did not. Besides it's not my fault it's so delicious" he says innocently.

"Honey, if you want you can eat all the cookies, but let me bake them first. You will get a stomach ache otherwise" I say a little serious.

"Nah, I'm tough. I'm Four after all" he says punching his chest and I giggle.

"Come on, oh tough one. Let's go to bed" I say. Tobias walks to the wall to turn off the lights and follows me upstairs into the bedroom. We both brush our teeth and change into our PJ's and by some miracle I manage to do that without Tobias noticing my new tattoos. We slide into bed and I turn around automatically letting him spoon me. He peppers soft kisses on my neck and holds me close to him. The steady rise and fall of his chest lulls me to sleep and before I know it I'm in dreamland.

The next morning I wake up and find Tobias still lying in bed. I turn around so that I can watch him better and he stirs.

"It's a little creepy" he says sleep thick in his voice.

"What?" I ask grinning.

"You staring at me while I sleep" he answers.

"So it's creepy when I do it, but adorable when you do it?" I ask and he smiles, his eyes still closed.

"Yup."

"I love watching you sleep. You are so peaceful" I say and he finally opens his eyes smiling at me.

"I love watching you too. Sometimes you even speak in your sleep" he says surprising me.

"What? Really? What am I saying?" I ask.

"Most of the times you are just mumbling and I can't understand a thing, but sometimes you talk to me or our son" he says caressing my cheek.

"How do you know I'm talking to our son?" I ask. We started calling the little boy our son with more ease after he seemed to reappear in most of my dreams. It's so natural by now that calling him anything else seems wrong.

"Cause you say things like mommy loves you or you need to ask daddy" he says smiling brightly.

"I didn't know I was doing that" I say looking away. "Why didn't you say something earlier?" I ask returning my gaze to him.

"It seemed private, something just between you and him" he says and I can see a flash of hurt in his eyes.

"He is your son too. I mean he will be. Here" I say and place his hand over my heart and I concentrate on the memory of our boy.

"Mommy, mommy, look" the little boy says. "I look just like daddy" he says. He is wearing black sweat pants, black sneakers and a tight black tee shirt. Tobias is standing right behind him smiling.

"You sure do, buddy."

"And I'm stwong like daddy" he says lifting his little arm and showing me his muscles and I chuckle.

"I see. You are your father's son" I say. "Did daddy let you punch the bag?" I ask and he nods his little head enthusiastically.

"He will make one fine Dauntless instructor one day" Tobias says proud. "You should have seen him how he instructed those good for nothing initiates."

"Really?"

"Yeah, mommy. Daddy said that me better than them" he says looking up at his father. Tobias bends down and scoops him up and takes him upstairs to give him a bath.

I let go of Tobias's hand and he smiles at me and one single tear runs down his cheek. I wipe it away and kiss him softly on the lips.

"From now on I will show you all of them" I say and try to get out of bed but Tobias holds me back.

"Don't go. Stay here a while longer" he says and I lie back down and Tobias wraps his arms around me. We stay like this for a long while just lying there, kissing and smiling at each other, none of us saying a word, afraid to break the spell. After a while however his stomach growls and we get up. We walk downstairs hand in hand and Tobias makes coffee while I make some scrambled eggs with bacon. We soon sit down at the island and eat our breakfast, even though it's almost noon. When we're done Tobias cleans up and I go upstairs to brush my teeth and change into something else. By the time Tobias comes into the room I already have my pants and shirt on and have successfully covered my tattoos. I go back into the kitchen and prepare everything to bake cookies when Tobias comes and sits down at the island.

"How can I help?" he asks.

"Cut the chocolate" I say and show him how I need it. He does as I ask him and in no time the dough is ready and I prepare the first batch.

"What's that?" Tobias asks and I turn to look at him.

"What's what?" I ask confused, never noticing that I pulled up my sleeves and revealed the covered wrist.

"On your wrist. Did you hurt yourself?" he asks concerned. Busted.

"Um, no. I wanted it to be a surprise" I say bashful.

"Surprise?" he asks raising an eyebrow. I decide to take the bandage off, enough for him to see what lies underneath it. When he sees the Roman numeral symbolizing him his mouth hangs open for a moment before a wide grin spreads across his face. He pulls up his own sleeve, the left one, and reveals a similar bandage. He takes the bandage fully off and reveals the Roman numeral six.

"Shut up" I say a little loud. "How?" I ask looking from his wrist to mine and back.

"Great minds think alike" he says. "I wanted a tattoo that symbolized you" he says.

"That's so awesome. No one will ever believe we did this without talking about it first" I say.

"Who cares?" he says and bends down to kiss me.

"When did you get it?" I ask after we part.

"Yesterday morning. Remember I told you I had something to take care of."

"I thought you meant work" I say.

"Well, I guess you weren't helping Tori out either" he says.

"No" I say in a low voice. "I wanted it to be a surprise. Well, surprise!" I say and he laughs.

We finish baking the cookies and put them on a special Christmas themed plate. We go into the living room and Tobias puts the comedy in he and Dwayne watched last night. We cuddle together and watch it. Tobias was right. It's really funny. By the time it ends it's almost four p.m. and we decide to get ready for the Christmas party. We go upstairs and I convince Tobias to shower separately, because otherwise we wouldn't make it in time. He agrees, albeit after putting on his puppy dog eyes and I have to smack him to drop it. I promise him however that he will get to open a present when we get back. At the mention of that his eyes light up and a mischievous grin spreads on his face. He goes into the bathroom without a word and I put my dress and his clothes on the bed. I grab new underwear and wait for Tobias to get out. He deliberately walks into our bedroom completely naked letting me take in his gorgeous appearance. I shake my head and walk into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I step into the shower and make sure not to wet my bandages. I'm quickly done and proceed to dry myself. I put on my sexy black lace underwear and start doing my make-up and hair. I decide to take of the bandage from my wrist to expose my newest tattoo. I walk into the bedroom, making sure it's deserted and quickly put my thigh high dress on to avoid Tobias seeing my intimate tattoo. I put on my knee high boots and store my phone in the inside of my left. I walk downstairs where Tobias is eating cookies.

"Tobias" I say in a scolding tone. I startle him and he drops the cookie on the kitchen island.

"Jeez, you startled me" he says.

"Don't eat cookies before dinner" I say and he looks surprised for a moment before he smiles. "What?" I ask confused.

"You sound like a mom" he says with a chuckle and I think for a second. He's right.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scold you" I say.

"Yeah, you did. But it's okay. I know you do it because you love me" he says and opens his arms for me. I step forward and we wrap each other into a tight embrace.

"I love you, Tobias."

"I love you too, Tris. Come on, love. Let's go get this party started" he says and I laugh lightly.

We head downstairs to the cafeteria where everyone seems to have gathered and we make our way to our table. All our friends are here and we enjoy a wonderful typical Dauntless meal. All of our friends have of course noticed our tattoos and all looked dumb when we told them that we got them without telling the other.

Like on Halloween after we eat supper we go to the club where we dance and sing and just have a good time hanging out. Christina convinced me to sing a few songs and at least one with her.

Christina: "Write what you want, say what you want about me. If you're wondering know that I'm not sorry. Do what you want, what you want with my body, what you want with my body." She is really on fire and the crowd in the club cheers loudly. "You can't have my heart and you won't use my mind but do what you want with my body, do what you want with my body. You can't stop my voice cause you don't own my life but do what you want with my body, do what you want with my body." The rhythm changes and it is my turn.

Me: "My bones hurt from all the shows but I don't feel the pain cause I'm a pro. I, sink in, then I'm okay, cause my body belongs to you when I'm on a stage."

Christina: "Sometimes I'm scared I suppose, if you ever let me go."

Me: "I would fall apart, if you break my heart."

Christina: "So just take my body."

Me: "And don't stop the party."

Christina: "You can't have my heart and you won't use my mind but"

Me: "Do what you want with my body, do what you want with my body."

Christina: "Do what you want with my body, world"

Me: "Help me now." The song fades out and the Dauntless cheer louder than ever. I'm so flushed right now that I'm absolutely happy that it's dark inside the club. I return to our table and sit down in Tobias's lap. He kisses my neck and I can feel his manhood pressing against my leg. I look down at him and smile.

"Let's get out of here" he says in my ear. I nod slightly and we say goodbye to our friends. We practically run back home. We arrive in front of our door five minutes later and Tobias unlocks it allowing me to get in first. I turn on the lights on the tree and wait for Tobias to catch up with me. I stand in front of the tree admiring it when Tobias wraps his arms around me.

"Wanna unwrap a present?" I ask lusciously.

"Is it by any chance the one I'm currently holding?" he asks and I can hear the smirk.

"Maybe" I say and his hands travel up and down my body resting on my aching breasts. He starts kneading them through the fabric of my dress and I lean backwards into him. I moan loudly and Tobias presses an open mouth kiss on my throat sucking lightly. "Baby, you're going to give me a hickey" I say and I feel him smile against my skin.

"What if that's what I was going for?" he asks continuing his ministrations.

"Are you going to mark me as yours?" I ask playing his game.

"I don't have to. You are mine. Everyone knows that" he says full of himself.

"You know it's so unfair" I say.

"What is, love?"

"You get to mark me, but I can't do the same" I say and he stops sucking on my soft flesh and turns me around so that I face him. He looks at me with a predatory look and I jump into his arms wrapping my legs around his waist. He holds me in place with his strong arms around my small frame and I start licking and sucking on his neck, making sure to give him one hell of a hickey. He walks to the couch and sits down, me in his lap and still attached to his skin like a leech. He lets out a guttural moan and I know he is more than ready for the next step. I get off of him and turn on the stereo, I return to the couch swaying my hips seductively and I see how Tobias's eyes darken at the sight. I start dancing in front of him offering him a show. He stretches out his hands trying to touch me, but I push his hands away. "No touching. If you behave I'll reward you" I say.

It has become a game of ours. Whenever one tries (and obviously succeeds) to seduce the other we have this thing where the one getting seduced doesn't touch the other for as long as possible. He puts his hands next to his body and keeps his eyes glued on me. I continue dancing removing my dress agonizingly slowly. Even in this dim light I can see his arousal and I realize it must be very painful for him. I let the dress fall down to the floor and stand now only in my underwear and boots. I straddle his lap and start rubbing my already soaking wet panties over the bulge in his pants and we both moan loudly. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss every part of his handsome face, avoiding his lips. I travel along his jaw line down to his collar and kiss every inch of exposed skin while dry humping him. I don't know about him, but I'm almost gone crazy here. I barely finish my thought when Tobias wraps his arms tightly around me, turns us around and presses me into the couch covering me with his body. We kiss passionately and I almost come when he reaches between us and runs two fingers over my womanhood. I'm so ready that I feel like I'm going to explode. I can only imagine it's the same with him. He kisses my lips, my cheeks, he sucks on my throat, nibbles on my collarbone, buries his face between my breasts licking and biting the nipples through my lace bra, then travels further south peppering feather light kisses along the way until he reaches my panties. He stops what he is doing and I look at him to see why. He is staring at my womanhood and for a moment I'm confused. But then realization hits me. He sees the bandage through the lace.

"What's this?" he asks looking up at me. I smile cocky and say "your Christmas present". He pulls down my panties in one swift movement and I giggle. He slowly removes the bandage revealing the black ink. When the bandage is finally off he looks at my tattoo speechless.

"You don't like it?" I ask a little concerned. He looks up at me and a smile grazes his features.

"Your mine" he simply says.

"Forever and always" I add.

"This is… thank you" he says before bending down and kissing me gently.

"You're welcome" I say after we part. "I actually wanted something different at first" I say and he looks at me curiously. "I thought of something like Property of Four, but figured it would be a bit awkward to explain to Addison why my vagina suddenly belongs to you, no matter if she would get it" I say and we both laugh.

"True. But this" he points toward my womanhood "is mine. And this" he points toward the big bulge "is yours."

We start kissing again and soon our fevered make out session turns into a blazing fire of passion that threatens to consume us. We make love on the couch, then the carpet, the dining table and finish our marathon in the bedroom, where we fall back onto the sheets exhausted but happier than ever.

I almost fall asleep when Tobias jumps up startling me.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Wait here" he says running out of the room completely naked.

"Wasn't planning on going anywhere" I shout after him. He returns shortly with a small box in his hand and offers it to me. I sit up, clutching the sheets around me. I look from him to the box and take it from him. I look at it for a moment and Tobias sits down next to me.

"Open it" he says smiling. I do as he says and open the box. Inside is a white gold heart shaped pendant with necklace included. I look at it and smile. "It has an engraving on the back" he says and I take it out to examine it. On the back of the heart is a date engraved. June 1st.

"The day we met" I say looking at him.

"Yes. The day I fell absolutely and irrevocably in love with you, Beatrice Prior." I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him sloppy until we are so in sync that one might think it's a clock, instead of a lover's kiss.

"Thank you, honey. It's beautiful."

"You're welcome. There's something else" he says. "It opens up and you can put two pictures inside. Something close to your heart" he says. I open the pendant and see the spaces where two small pictures could easily fit.

"It's wonderful. Help me put it on" I say and he puts it around my neck. I kiss him again and we both lie down in each other's arms. Fatigue soon takes over me, although I fight as much as I can, and I fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I missed to do this the previous chapter. Anyone guessed why I picked June 4th?
> 
> What did you think of the tattoos? Especially Tris's? Too much?
> 
> What about the necklace with the heart shaped pendant?
> 
> And what do you think means that Tris keeps having these dreams where her son appears?
> 
> Keep reading to find out.


	51. Chapter 51

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the delay. I just finished this chapter, so if there are spelling or grammar mistakes, please forgive me.
> 
> Thank you for the reviews and the new follows. You guys are just the best.
> 
> To answer a few things. Some of you said that it was unlikely for Tris to get her tattoo where she did. The point of it was a) it had to be something just for Tobias's eyes and b) guys, she's Dauntless. She needs to get out of her shell and explore this side of her. Besides, why not? I mean if you think she shouldn't have, tell me why. I can;t change it anymore, but I would like to know why you think that.
> 
> A reader suggested that Addison might have lied to Tris and she might be pregnant or soon get pregnant. I don't think a doctor, even a fictional one, would lie to her patient. As for the baby, it will come, but not quite yet. Call me old fashioned but I want them married before the baby comes. They both came from Abnegation, for God's sake. Let them be a little Stiff. But the dreams do mean something.
> 
> Enjoy!

51

In the morning I wake up first and look over at Tobias's side. He is still fast asleep and I decide to go take a quick shower before heading downstairs to make us breakfast. However, the moment I turn on the shower two strong arms wrap themselves around me and I lean back enjoying the feel of Tobias's naked body pressed against mine.

"Good morning, love" he says into my ear and I shudder.

"Good morning, honey. Did you sleep well?"

"Wonderful. I was a little disappointed when I woke up and my beautiful fiancée wasn't there" he says and I chuckle.

"I thought of taking a shower before starting the day" I say and turn around in his arms. "Hey" I say smiling.

"Hey" he says back, before he leans in and kisses me. "Mind if I join you?"

"Did I ever?"

We shower together (a.k.a. fool around) and about 40 minutes later we step out and head downstairs just in our bathrobes. Thankfully the apartment is well heated otherwise we might get a cold. Although I'm sure Tobias would say that I would get a cold. Not him. No, sir. We decide to eat some cereals, since neither one of us is in the mood to make a fancy breakfast.

When we're done Tobias cleans up and we start opening our Christmas presents. Tobias got me a cute new dress and some black diamond earrings. I kiss him gently and thank him. He opens his boxes with the two new outfits and the boots. Although we both like the presents, the ones we gave each other last night are more special, more personal. Christina got me a silver friends-forever-bracelet and Will gave me a book on computers. I remember that I once complained about them. I chuckle at the memory. They both got Tobias a brand new shaving set, although sometimes a five o'clock shadow isn't the worst thing in the world. It's kind of sexy. But I do like him shaved. Shauna and Zeke got for us a book on love making called the Kama Sutra. We both blush, but decide to give it a try. Marlene and Uriah got us a set of twelve frames and a note that said: You guys need to put up pictures. Tell your story. I almost started crying when I read that. Tobias and I decided to start it with our wedding picture and then one by one fill each frame until we have twelve pictures. Caleb and Cara got us each a book on faction law and leadership. Boring. But they are Erudite. They don't know any better. However, the most amazing gift came from Tori and Dwayne, although I guess Tori did most of it. It's a framed drawing of our tattoos. Right in the middle of the paper is the faction tattoo that Tobias has on his back and in the right upper corner are my four ravens, with Tobias's attached to the Dauntless symbol. We decide to hang it in the bedroom since it's very personal and I honestly have no intention in either explaining the meaning of it nor sharing it with anyone other than Tobias.

Tobias immediately does that, hanging the drawing over our bed and since he had the hammer I made him set up the twelve picture frames behind the entertainment center. This way even when the TV is off we can look at something other than the wall. The biggest frame goes in the middle and is surrounded by eleven smaller ones. I can practically see our entire life there: our wedding day, our first child, our second, maybe even a third, kindergarten, school, Choosing Day – hopefully Dauntless and then their weddings and their children. It all sounds so wonderful that I can't help it and start crying. When Tobias sees me he rushes over to me to comfort me, confused probably as to why I start crying for no apparent reason. When I tell him the reason he smiles and pulls me closer to him, telling me that that would be wonderful.

We have nothing planned for today so we decide to just stay in and watch movies. By lunch we are not really hungry, having eaten so much popcorn. We decide to prepare something for later. Tobias wanted some Carbonara pasta and I make it for him. When I'm done cooking we sit down and eat. Sometimes even smelling a good home cooked meal makes you hungry. Since I cooked Tobias cleans up and I head upstairs to brush my teeth. The rest of our afternoon is pretty much filled with movies and making out.

After the sun set Tobias turned on the colorful Christmas tree lights and we just watch it for a while not saying anything. My mind wanders to what our lives might look like in a year or two, in five or ten. Will we have children by then? I hope so. At least one. Our little boy. But if we have a girl we will love her just as much. Unlike Tobias and me we will be able to celebrate all their birthdays and holidays the way our parents couldn't or wouldn't. I must have made a sound because Tobias sifts and I look up at him.

"What's wrong?" he asks, caressing my cheek. I lean against his chest and sigh.

"I was just thinking how our lives will look like a year from now or two or ten."

"I guess it will be loud around here" he says with a chuckle.

"Wild Dauntless party?" I ask.

"Three Dauntless kids can make a lot of noise" he says and I turn around to look into his eyes. A wide grin is plastered over his handsome face and I have to smile.

"You had this figured out, haven't you?"

"Yup. This time next year we will be married and maybe a little surprise will be on his way" he says placing a hand over my flat tummy. Butterflies seem to instantaneously have formed inside my stomach and I hold my breath for a moment.

"Is it because of my dreams?" I ask a little concerned. I know we have talked about starting a family, but especially after we found out that I wasn't pregnant he seemed to have understood that waiting is our best option at the moment. We need to figure things out, both in our professional and our private lives. We love each other very much, but taking care of a child is a whole new responsibility. We need to be prepared.

"Partly" he says. "I know we decided to wait and I'm not really saying we should jump head first into this, but it doesn't hurt to think about it" he says.

"Tobias, you just turned nineteen. I will turn seventeen shortly before the wedding. There's so much we still want to do for Dauntless and so much I want to do for the city before we become parents. I told you, once the baby is here I will take off. I won't leave my child. Eventually, I will consider daycare and start working at least part time in the beginning, but I want our baby to have his mother and his father close and not feel abandoned."

"That will never happen. Even if we work, we will always make time for our family" he firmly says. "I understand your concerns and I'm not trying to convince you otherwise, I'm just saying it would be nice."

"It would be more than nice. How do you think I feel waking up from a beautiful dream where I could hold my little boy in my arms. The worst part is that I want to go back to sleep so desperately that it almost hurts me physically."

"I didn't know that" he says looking concerned at me.

"I love seeing our little boy and it hurts to not have him, but after I wake up and realize that this is reality and there are duties and responsibilities waiting for me I brace myself for the day and remember what is in front of me. I want to change the system to create a better future for our children" I say.

"And you will. I will help you do that. For the past four months I've heard you talk about what you want to change and I think it's wonderful. Evelyn thinks so too. The fact that you start helping the factionless shows not only Evelyn but them that there's more to you than meets the eye."

"Thank you. I have a project in mind but for it to work I need to prepare myself. I want to meet with Evelyn and the factionless and get to know them. It won't be official. I will mask it by saying I want to get to know my future mother in law better."

"Don't you think it's a bit risky going behind her back. I know she seems nice, but she can be cruel if she wants too" he warns.

"That's the thing. I'm not going behind her back. She will know" I say.

"What exactly do you mean?"

"I will tell her what I have in mind. She is their leader and I can't go behind her back. I expect the same from her."

"I still don't understand."

"I want to give the factionless a home" I say and he looks at me like I've lost my mind.

"Come again?"

"For the past months I have been reading all the files on the Dauntless members. Many of them are factionless now because they are too old or somehow injured, making them useless. With the system we have implemented to give everyone a second chance we successfully managed to find the right job for everyone. There are still bumps along the road, but we're getting there. The next step I want to take is to reintegrate former Dauntless members. Each case will be revised and if it turns out that someone was kicked out for no real reason that person should be allowed to return."

"Can you do that?" he asks concerned.

"Watch me" I say with a smirk on my face.

"Tris, I'm serious. There are strict laws forbidding you to do this" he says.

"Actually, there aren't. See, I've studied the law as well and turns out we, as leaders of Dauntless, are entitled to revise these cases and annul the previous decision. But before I start anything I need to prepare the way with the council, but more importantly with Evelyn and talk to the former Dauntless."

"You want to bring them back? Even Molly and Drew and that bastard Edward?" he asks a little angry.

"Calm down, honey" I say running my hand up and down his arm. He relaxes a little under my touch but keeps a serious face. "They are not eligible. They never became members." At hearing this he relaxes even more and his gaze softens.

"But you would help them too" he says.

"Yes. What happened during initiation isn't entirely their fault. Look at Peter" I say and he tenses up again, the look in his eyes almost murderous.

"Don't even mention that low life" he growls.

"Tobias" I say a little loud. "Would you calm down? He's locked up. Let me finish" I shout. He remains silent and I take it as my cue to continue. "I'm not saying he's a saint. He is more than capable of worse, but Edward's stabbing and then what happened to me – he was encouraged by Eric. So was almost everyone. When Eric told us that according to ranking we will get cut that changed everything. We weren't fighting for a good ranking anymore. We were fighting for our very existence. I felt the pressure like everyone else, but as you once told me that fear of becoming factionless woke me up. I fought harder, I trained alone to improve my strength and fighting skills. I needed to get better. But more than half of us were already doomed to live factionless, it was just a matter of who would give out first" I say and he looks at me with his intense instructor gaze.

"I wish I would have been braver and stood up to Eric. Maybe Edward's stabbing wouldn't have happened. But I was a coward" he says hanging his head.

"No, you weren't. You acted right. You were nowhere near in a position to stand up to Eric, especially since Max wouldn't even listen to you after Edward's stabbing. You told me so yourself. The past is just that – past. We need to look ahead and try to do better."

"How is it that even if you put me down you pick me up again and help me stand taller than before?" he asks with a smile.

"Because I love you. It's my job. Somebody has to kick your stupid ass every once in a while, but it's also my job to lift you up" I say and he leans in to kiss me. I allow it and put my arms around his shoulder pulling him closer. We kiss for a long while until we part and look deep into each other's eyes.

"I love you, Beatrice" he says softly.

"I love you too, Tobias."

It's Saturday morning and the sun already shines into our bedroom, which means we overslept.

"Tobias" I say sitting up, but he doesn't move. He is really tired, but we don't have time for this right now. "Honey, wake up. We overslept" I say and turn to look at the watch. It says ten thirty a.m. Damn. Tobias still doesn't move "Tobias, wake up" I say a little louder. He still doesn't move. Oh for God's sake. "Honey" I say in a sweet and yet seductive voice "if you don't wake up I will have to come all on my own" I say and he sits up. "Really, Tobias?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"What? I can't let you do it on your own. What kind of a man would I be to let my woman take care of her needs all by herself?" he asks smirking.

"The kind of man that overslept and needs to wake up, because his mother is coming over for lunch and we are way behind schedule" I say and his face drops a little. He looks toward his watch and reads the time. He turns back to me with a little pout.

"So, no hanky panky?" he asks sad. I have to bite my cheek to avoid smiling at his behavior.

"Of course not. We both know what that means and we don't have time. Come on, rise and shine, sleeping beauty" I say and get out of bed. I grab some new clothes and go into the bathroom. I wash my face and brush my teeth. I do my hair and apply some light make-up, when Tobias stumbles in.

"Not even a quicky?" he asks and I almost poke my eyeball with the mascara.

"No" I yell. "Tobias, cut the crap. No sex. We can fool around later after she's gone all you want. We need to get down and prepare lunch. She's gonna be here soon" I say a little calmer.

"Alright" he says and goes over to the toilet to pee. A few months ago this would have been embarrassing, but by now it's sort of our routine. We are almost always late in the morning, mainly because of this hanky panky business. Therefore, while I do my hair and make-up he pees or showers or I pee or shower while he shaves.

We both finish up in the bathroom and hurry downstairs. I decided to prepare stakes for the three of us with some mashed potatoes and a lettuce salad. For dessert I already had a Dauntless cake ready, unless Tobias got up during the night and ate some. He did one time. I made a cake for Uriah, because he begged me ever since he got to taste one of mine so I finally gave in and made him one. In the morning when I went to get it to give it to him half of it was already gone. When I confronted Tobias he said that it's only fair. In the two years since he had known Uriah the younger Dauntless kept stealing slices of cake from under his nose. I told him that I don't care and that he had to explain this to our friend. He tried to get out of it, but I put my foot down and threatened him that I wouldn't ever make him any ever again. Whoever said that withholding sex is the best way to convince your man to do something he doesn't want was clearly wrong.

By the time Evelyn is scheduled to arrive we are almost done. I sent Tobias to the tracks to get his mom while I set the table. I even bought a fine red wine for the occasion. I turn on the stereo and allow some soft carols cheer up the atmosphere. I hear the door open and turn around.

"Welcome Evelyn" I say and walk the short distance to the front door.

"Hello Beatrice" she says. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas" I say back. I take her coat and Tobias offers her some house slippers we especially bought for guests. "Please, come in and make yourself comfortable" I say. She walks to the couch in the living room and sits down.

"Can I bring you something?" I ask.

"A cup of tea" she says.

"Alright. Do you want some honey with it?" I ask her.

"Yes, please."

"Tobias?"

"I want some tea as well. It's freezing outside" he says.

I go into the kitchen and make tea for the three of us. While the water is boiling I prepare everything and allow mother and son to talk privately. Once the tea is ready I pour it in three mugs and carry it over to the coffee table. Tobias is sitting next to Evelyn on the couch while I take a seat on the ottoman.

"How have you been?" I ask her.

"Good, thanks for asking. A few of my people asked me to wish you Merry Christmas" she says smiling.

"Really? I don't know anyone" I say wondering who might say that.

"But they know you. What you did with that diner… they appreciate it" she says sincerely. I want to stop second guessing her motives, I really do. So I'm going to be bold.

"I did it because they deserve it and more. I find it outrageous that someone becomes factionless just because he or she wouldn't fit. There are many out there, I'm sure, that would fit but for one reason or another became factionless."

"What do you mean?" she asks a little alerted.

"I mean I've read every Dauntless file we have on current and past members. Many of those who live factionless shouldn't. They were forced out because apparently they didn't fit. For instance, when someone becomes to old he or she is asked to leave the compound. Or even worse."

"I have many ex-Dauntless that wouldn't agree with you" she says a little defensive.

"That's why I wanted to ask you something" I say looking her straight in the eyes.

"What?" she asks politely but firm.

"Would it be possible to meet with the ex-Dauntless and discuss a potential return to the compound?" I ask and I can tell I'm surprising her with my request.

"You want to take them back?" she asks disbelievingly.

"If it's possible. Some of them where kicked out for no reason and I want to make things right" I say.

"But it's against the law" she says, her mouth slightly hanging open.

"No, it's not. As a leader I am allowed to revise these cases and overrule a previous decision, even if it was made by someone else."

"Have you talked to the council about this?" she asks genuinely curious.

"No, I haven't. I'm still working on my presentation. But before I go and plead the case I need to know if those people really want this. I was never there to talk to them myself, but from what you are telling me they have accepted their life and condition. If they are happy the way things are now I won't press them, but if someone, who is eligible to be reintegrated into our faction, wants to return I want to help them. But this works only on a case by case basis. Some of them committed crimes and where banished from the grounds, but others became factionless because of their age or some injury. I won't come to your place if you don't want me there, but I would like to, I won't lie about that, Evelyn. My intention is to help your people, because in the end they are my people as well. Everyone in the city is."

"You know, you sound more like me every day" she says smirking.

"We want similar things, yes, but our approach is entirely different" I sternly say. "I want to help people, all of the people in the city, but I don't believe crashing the faction system is the right approach."

"It's not just" she says firmly and a little loud.

"Ladies, please, it's Christmas. Can we please enjoy our time together without the political debate" Tobias tries to calm us down.

"Hang on, babe" I say and hold my left index finger up. "Evelyn, I get where you're coming from, but you are wrong. Just because the faction system doesn't work for you or some of the factionless doesn't mean it doesn't work for others. You can't go and drastically change one way of life with another and expect everyone to be happy."

"The faction system is inhibiting us, keeping us from being ourselves" she argues.

"I agree, till a point. You have to understand that you can't go and change two hundred years of faction life over night. Unless you want a civil war" I say and watch her carefully. She looks at me with the same intensity Tobias does when he is trying to make a point but can't. She leans back and keeps her eyes locked on mine.

"I wanted one" she confesses. "I've been waiting for years. And then you came and destroyed my chance" she says probably more honest than she ever was. "I told Tobias that something will happen. Something big. I just needed to wait for the right time to strike. Jeanine's attack on Abnegation would have been just the beginning. She was so focused on hunting and killing divergents that she couldn't see clearly anymore. The more she did, supposedly for the city, the more she weakened the whole system. It was just a matter of time for me and my people to strike and overthrow the government. But then you came along and destroyed that opportunity" she tells us. I already figured that part out on my own. But this is the first time she actually voiced this to us. Or at least me. If she ever told Tobias he never mentioned it. I look toward Tobias and I can't really tell what he is thinking or feeling right now.

"So you blame Tris" he says looking at her, his fists clenched.

"I would lie if I would say otherwise" she simply says looking at him now.

"You would have let Jeanine kill innocent people to get your opportunity to take over the city?" I ask a little shocked by her coldness.

"Yes" she simply states. I rise from where I was sitting and look down to her.

"Let me ask you one more thing. Never mind the fact that Tobias might have gotten killed, what would have happened once you overthrew the government? Are you sure that you would have had the numbers? And do you really think this would have been justice?" I ask her, my voice raised.

"My people have suffered enough" she says just as loud.

"I agree. This is why I'm doing all I can to help them" I say.

"It's not enough" she says.

"And what you did so far is?" Tobias asks angry at his mother. She turns to look at him in shock.

"I took care of them. Gave them a reason to live" she defends.

"Evelyn, explain it to me, because I just can't wrap my head around it. Let's suppose you would have gone through with your plan. You would have overthrown the government. You are in charge now. How would you make everyone's lives better, not just the factionless, but all people in the city?"

"I would disband the faction system" she says.

"And then what? Anarchy? The stronger will survive?" Tobias asks.

"A new government would take the old ones place" she says.

"And who would be part of it?" Tobias inquires further. She looks at him, but we all know what she's going to say. "Let me help you. You would be in charge."

"How would you make things right for everyone? As a leader you know you need to think of the bigger picture. How would you be fair with those who lived in a faction, opposed to the factionless?" I ask her.

"I don't know. I would have figured it out" she says in defeat.

"Evelyn" I say sighing. "This is what I try to avoid. A civil war. I want to help the factionless as much as you do, but help me do that. If people want to come back to the factions they once called home would you let them?" I ask.

"I don't know" she sincerely says.

"They are not your property" Tobias says.

"I know. But some of them have lived the way we do for many years" she says.

"This is why I want to see if coming back would be something they wanted. I have great plans for the whole city, but I can't fulfill them on my own. I need help. All the help I can get. I dream of a city where we can visit each other no matter the faction, where our children learn about each faction and decide for themselves through personal experience where they belong, not through some dumb aptitude test. I'm not going to suggest to the council that we disband the faction system, but Evelyn, if you would look at the big picture the way I do, you would recognize what I'm doing" I say smiling a little. Evelyn remains quiet, just staring at me.

"She is trying to accomplish what you seek, but with patience. Making a smooth transition from what our world is now to what it is supposed to be" Tobias says. "I want my children to grow up in a happy place, not a constant struggle for survival, no matter if you are part of a faction or factionless."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What do you think of Evelyn's confession? How about the way Tris handled it?
> 
> Do you think they can finally come clean and have a real relationship? Not just Evelyn and Tobias but also Evelyn and Tris.
> 
> What do you think of the gifts? I particularly mean Zeke's and Shauna's, but also Tori's?
> 
> Until Sunday, my initiates.


	52. Chapter 52

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for sticking around. I'm so sorry for having you waiting this long. Had a crazy week and just couldn't get a break.
> 
> Thank you all for your best wishes for my birthday. Totally made my day more special.
> 
> On Monday I had this cute idea and of course I had to write it down. I started a drabble series called Moments we share. It's about short moments in FourTris's lives not particularly in chronological order. First drabble is called Baby's First Halloween. Check it out.
> 
> And here's what you all have been waiting for. Chapter...

52

Evelyn remains silent for a long while. I stood up almost immediately after Tobias spoke and pulled him with me. We are currently in the kitchen making sure everything is warm for us to have lunch. I knew this would be difficult. The fact that Evelyn is closed minded isn't much help either. I know she means well, although not for everyone. She has lived factionless for so long that the faction system is just nonsense and a threat to her way of life. I am very much aware that the factionless population in the city is way higher than the council thinks. No one seems to have actually taken an interest in finding out for sure, but it has to be this way. Tobias told me there are many and considering recent years and the number of dropouts from each faction after the initiation process is complete leads me to believe that the factionless combined would be in pure numbers just as many as the members of any given faction.

Tobias is carrying the food into the dining area and placing it on the table. I return to the living room and sit down next to Evelyn. She looks up at me, her eyebrows furrowed and a scowl on her face.

"I believe that we should have the right to choose for ourselves and the faction system is undermining that right" she states.

"I partially agree with you. Listen, Evelyn, it's Christmas. Let us postpone the politics for another time. We haven't invited you here for this. I know you have your opinion and I have stated mine. All I'm asking is that you keep an open mind about this. You don't have to give me any kind of answer now or in the next few days. Take your time, think about it and then let me know. I respect you, Evelyn, you are their leader and you have lived among them for many years. They wouldn't look up to you for leadership and advice if you wouldn't care for them, but let me demonstrate that I have everyone's best interest at heart, including your people" I say and smile at her. She looks at me serious for a moment before giving me a smell smile of her own.

Tobias walks into the living room and tells us that lunch is ready. We get up and walk to the small dining area where we sit down, Tobias on the end of the dining table and Evelyn and I on each side of him. We start eating in comfortable silence, broken only by polite remarks such as "what a wonderful meal" or "please, pass the salt". After we are done with lunch we return to the living room and I give Evelyn my gift for her.

"What is it?" she asks looking at me curiously.

"Your Christmas present. I hope you like it" I say sincerely.

"You didn't have to" she says almost shy. "I wasn't aware that we would do this" she tries to say but I interrupt.

"Doesn't matter. I wanted to get this. Disregard the holiday and just think of it as a small token of my appreciation" I say.

"You appreciate me?" she asks disbelievingly.

"Yes. Even though we don't always see eye to eye I told you I respect you as a leader. And without you this man I love so much wouldn't exist" I say looking toward him with a slight blush spread over my face. "But what I really appreciate is how you try to mend your relationship with your son. This means more to me than anything. I told Tobias that I don't care if you are mean to me as long as you honestly try to make it work with him. I would go through fire for him if necessary only to see him happy. You proved to me more than once that you really are honest and you even helped him when I was missing. Thank you again for that. Again, I hope you like it" I say and leave the room.

I need to calm myself. Even though I've learned over the past months to control my emotions in public I still explode easily when I'm too frustrated and right now Evelyn really frustrated the crap out of me. I go into the bedroom and close the door behind me. I let myself drop backwards on the bed and close my eyes for a moment. Gosh, she's so stubborn. She wouldn't see a good thing in front of her eyes even if it would spit in her face. I realize this is where Tobias must have gotten his stubbornness from. I breathe in and out trying to calm my nerves. I knew it would be difficult to make her see reason. She wants the same thing I want only in her opinion it has to be now. You can't go and change everything over night. She is a leader, yes, but a lousy diplomat. Sometimes you can catch more flies with honey than with a sledge hammer. Now that I think of this, my mom used to say this to me when something didn't go my way. I understand Evelyn, more than she might think. True, I haven't had the life she had, first being married to an abusive man and then forced to live factionless, to struggle every day for survival, but I know what it's like to live guarded and afraid to trust anyone. I know how it's like to fight wind mills when all you want to do is change things for the better. I struggle with this every day. I realized that if I really wanted to change things I needed to take things slow. Make others see my point of view. I know it's somewhat manipulative, but some people are just too dumb to see what's good for them. I mean there has to be a reason why I'm divergent. Why divergents exist for that matter. The fact that we fit in more than one category can't be all that's to it. Mom once told me that my mind works in a million different ways and that I see things others miss or disregard. It's time I put this to good use.

A knock on the door pulls me out of my thoughts and I sit up on the bed. Tobias pokes his head inside to check if I'm alright. I smile at him and he returns mine with one of his own.

"You okay, love?" he asks a little concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I say but I realize I didn't sound very convincing.

"I know she's difficult" he states. "You made a good point, but she's too stubborn."

"I shouldn't have brought it up at all. It's Christmas. The point of today was to spend time with Evelyn, your mother, not Evelyn, the factionless leader" I say. "I'm sorry" I look away saying the last part. He puts his index finger under my chin and turns my head to face him again.

"Don't be. You and I both know that what you do is for everyone's good. She only wants what is good for the factionless, but she needs to realize that this is not the way" he firmly says, always supporting me no matter what.

"I love you" I say leaning in to kiss him.

"I love you more" he says after we part. We rest our foreheads against each other and smile. "We should get back down" he says and I nod.

"Did you give her your gift?" I ask remembering about it.

"Yes, I did" he says.

"And?"

"She liked it a lot, she cried a little and hugged me" he says smiling. "I felt like I had my mom back for the first time in years" he confesses.

"I'm glad, honey."

We go downstairs where Evelyn currently sits on our couch and looks at the picture of her and her son. We sit down on the love seat and I wait for her to look up.

"You have to understand that I'm not arguing with you because I don't like or trust you. I just don't trust the system" she says before looking up at me.

"I hoped so" I say honestly. "But I can't emphasis this enough, I want to change things for the better, but in time. What I've been asking you… look at it as a long term investment. Some of those who are factionless really didn't fit into one of the factions, but others were kicked out for dumb and ridiculous reasons. I want to show the council and the factions that giving second chances isn't that bad and it would be in everyone's best interest. I want to build a foundation for a better tomorrow. Don't think for a second I don't know what you had in mind. I have aptitude for Erudite after all" I say with a smirk and she looks at me disbelievingly like I have no clue of what I am saying and just babble. "Since we met I listened to you and with the few things Tobias told me about you I figured it out. Actually, it wasn't that hard. Like you said, you wanted to wait for the faction system to crumble, but then I happened, well we happened" I say looking at Tobias who smiles "we stopped the war, before it began. Your chances of taking over the government were therefore annulled. But let's assume things would have happened differently and at this point let's disregard the loss of human life this situation would have caused, you would have attacked when the city would have been at its weakest and overthrown the still remaining government. You would have tried and convicted the council and everyone pro faction system before anyone could have even figured what the hell was going on. Then you would have assumed your role as sole leader and become a dictator. Everyone that wouldn't share your opinion would be charged with treason and most likely executed. Have I missed something so far?" I ask looking at her.

"I think you are exaggerating" she says a little condescending.

"Really? Be honest Evelyn."

"I wouldn't have executed everyone" she says and I have to hold back a laugh. If this wouldn't be serious I would just pile this on the morbid humor stash.

"Yes you would've, whether you want to admit it out loud or not. I just have a question. You say the faction system undermines us and tells us we are only one thing and we should keep thinking of ourselves as such. Aren't you doing the same? By telling everyone that the faction system is flawed and needs to be permanently removed, aren't you telling people to follow your opinion instead of their own?"

"The faction system is flawed."

"And yet, so many prefer it to the uncertainty of a life as factionless. Don't get me wrong, I admire you for your devotion, but make no mistake, if you think you are any better than Jeanine Matthews you are wrong" I say hoping to get the reaction from her that I need to wake her up. She immediately jumps up upon hearing me say that and glares at me.

"How dare you? How dare you compare me with that Erudite bitch? Tobias, aren't you going to say something?" she asks and I look toward him. He looks at me a little shocked but doesn't say or do anything.

"I dare because it is the truth. She tried, just like you, to enforce her own views and ideals upon others. That's not freedom, that's infringement. If you really want to change the system you need to make small steps and most importantly accept what you preach. You say we need to have freedom to speak our minds, but you yourself would restrict the people in the city by taking their choice away. Not everybody hates the system. But for them to be more flexible about this change you need to befriend them not become their enemy. I know there are many factionless, but there are even more in the factions. If you would provoke a civil war do you really think you could win? And never mind that. Let's say you win, how many casualties are we talking about? Is it really worth it? We are the last ones to survive a terrible war. It is our duty to stay alive. But if you think killing each other will get the point across, then go ahead start a war. Kill as many as you can" I tell her never looking away.

"I don't want anyone to die, but dark times call for extreme measures" she says.

"Seriously? Dark times? What dark times?" I ask.

"For too long the council treated the factionless like low-lives, like something that can be tossed away. Factionless were no longer humans, they were an inconvenience."

"I agree. Why exactly do you think I'm working so hard to change that? Don't you think I saw that growing up? While the Abnegation volunteered to help the factionless they never treated them as equals. Yes, they gave them food and clothes and occasionally talked to them, but that was about it. I was told to not engage them in conversation. Our whole society pushed them away, like vermin. There were a few Abnegation, like my parents, who dared to speak to them and my mom always told me to treat anyone with respect, young or old, factionless or part of a faction. We are all equal before death, so why not in life? I agree with you, Evelyn, and if you would pull your head out of your fucking ass" I yell and get up "you would see that too." She glares at me for a while, before she grins widely.

"I have to say, Beatrice, you've got balls" she says and I make a disgusted face. I know what she means, but still. Poor choice of words.

"Thanks, but yuck."

"I knew you would turn out to be helpful" she says and I look at her confused.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"While you were upstairs I thought of what you said. You are not completely wrong, even if you've slightly exaggerated. I want a change and I want it sooner rather than later. But I'm willing to try it your way. Explain to me what you have in mind" she says and we both sit back down and I start explaining her (again) what my plans for the factionless are.

We spend another two hours talking business. I wasn't planning on doing this now, but since she's willing to listen why not. She ends up agreeing to help me. We decide that after New Year's I will visit the factionless sector and she will introduce me as her future daughter in law. I will talk to people about what I have in mind. I will tell her who the people are that I particularly want to ask to come back to Dauntless to set up a private meeting. She stays for another hour before she reluctantly says goodbye and leaves for the tracks. I send Tobias with her while I clean up the dining area and living room. I'm almost done when he gets back and brings the last dishes from the dining area into the kitchen.

"I have to say I almost thought you two would jump at each other's throats at any moment" he says with a chuckle. "But she really likes you. I mean she told me before that she accepts you, because I love you and she doesn't want anything to stand between us, but now she actually told me that she likes you for you. I think you might have made my mother fall in love with you."

"I just gave her a piece of my mind. I won't allow her to be this hypocritical in my own home. I meant what I said, by the way. She acts all super hero, but is in fact just like Jeanine. I know she's your mom and yes I know I was the one who suggested this, but she can be a real pain in the ass" I scoff and he embraces me pulling me close to him. My back is firmly pressed against his front and he peppers feather like kisses on my shoulder and neck and stops at my left cheek. "You must be upset with me" I say in a low voice. He stops his ministrations and sighs.

"Why would you say that?" he asks although we both know the reason.

"Honey, come on."

"Would I have wanted a quiet Christmas lunch with my fiancée and with my mother? Yes. Was this lunch anything other than I've actually expected it? No. You made a good point and I support you 100%. And she was telling the truth earlier. While you were up in the bedroom I talked to her. I told her how hard you have been working these past months to make things better in the city. Every improvement that happened in the city since you became part of the council is thanks to you, directly or not. I told her that we often discuss what a good approach would be to change certain things without stepping on to many toes. She listened quietly and looked very impressed. The fact that you stand up to her pisses her off, but at the same time she acknowledges you as an equal and accepts you as my future wife. My mother still seems to be under the impression that you need to be worthy of me, when it is me who needs to be worthy of you."

"Shut it, Tobias" I say playfully. "We are worthy of each other. Period. You really think she's okay with me? I mean she says it, but then she goes and pisses me off and I don't know if it's genuine or for show" I say frustrated.

"It's genuine. Before she used to have that condescending tone whenever she talked about you, but ever since we allowed her into our home and be part of our lives I've noticed a slight change. She is impressed by you and maybe a little intimidated. You are so young and have accomplished so much more than anyone ever. You are stubborn, but you put that to good use. You think of others and don't act only as a Dauntless leader during council meetings but as a citizen of this city."

"Thanks, honey. Let's finish up here and go to bed. Today was really exhausting" I say and yawn.

"Too bad you are all tired" he says with a smirk and I raise an eyebrow.

"Why?" I ask, although I get what he wants.

"I was hoping…" he starts but I interrupt him.

"To get lucky?" I finish for him. He nods eagerly and I smile at this. I turn around and run upstairs shouting back "if you want it come and get it". He is behind me almost a second later wrapping his strong arms around me, pulling me close and allowing no space between us. He lays me down on the soft mattress and kisses me senseless, a silent promise of a long passionate night.


	53. Chapter 53

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Just a heads up, in case I don't post when scheduled means I really couldn't finish a chapter, because of stupid work *ugh* Right now I basically write the chapter and post it, so... nothing written ahead so far.
> 
> But on a more positive note, I've posted a second drabble in my series Moments we share - Honey, I'm sick. It's actually about something that is mentioned in this chapter. so, check it out. Reviews as always welcomed.

53

Today is Valentine's Day and I can't wait to give Tobias my present. I woke up before him and decided to make him breakfast. We had a passionate night and he is still tired so it wasn't really hard to sneak out. Usually, when he is better rested, he wakes up at the lightest of my movements.

I go downstairs and prepare everything. I decide to make him pancakes, scrambled eggs with bacon and a fruit salad. Over the past months since we've been living together I've noticed how famished he is after making love all night. I need to keep my man fed and ready for some more, 'cause there's no chance I will let him off that easy. I chuckle to myself and get working. By the time I'm done with the pancakes I make coffee knowing that he will first want a sip of coffee before anything else. Before it's done however two strong arms encircle me and Tobias presses his face into the crook of my neck.

"Good morning, honey" I say pouring coffee in his favorite mug.

"Good morning, love" he replies in his very sexy morning voice. "Hm, smells good" he says "and so does the food and coffee" he quickly adds. I giggle. He always tells me I smell nice, even after a hard work out. Sometimes I think something is seriously wrong with his smelling sense.

"Happy Valentine's" I say turning around and pressing my lips to his, without deepening it.

"Happy Valentine's" he says smiling.

"I made you breakfast, honey. Sit down, I'm almost done" I say and he sits at the island with his coffee.

"Can I help you with something?" he asks.

"No. I'm done in a minute."

When I'm finally finished with breakfast I put a plate full of the delicious goodies I've prepared for my loving fiancé before him and another one where I would sit. We eat in comfortable silence, talking only now and then when Tobias praises my improved cooking skills. After we're done he cleans up and sends me up to take a shower. Apparently he has something planned for today, but won't tell me what it is.

I walk into our bathroom and turn on the shower waiting for the water to warm up enough to step inside. I take off me robe and want to step inside when a naked Tobias presses himself close to me. I can feel his erection pressed against my butt and grin. I turn around and jump into his arms. He wraps his arms securely around my frame and steps inside the shower, closing the door to keep the warmth in. He presses me into the tiles behind me and starts kissing my lips passionately. I start grinding against him and a loud moan escapes his lips. He keeps me pinned to the wall and probes my womanhood, checking if I'm ready. I'm always ready for him! He inserts two fingers and I gasp at the sensation. He smiles and starts pounding me with his digits, until I feel my release washing down on me spilling over his hand. We kiss hungrily and he positions himself at me entrance rubbing his pulsating cock against my slick folds. When his covered in my juices he thrusts into me and stays buried to the hilt for a moment, both of us moaning at the intimate contact. He begins a leisurely in and out pace until I feel like I can't take this slow torture anymore and beg him to do me harder and faster and deeper. As so many times before he obliges pounding into me like it's the last time he'll ever be able to and before any of us knows it we both climax at the same time screaming out each other's name. Tobias kneels down and presses his back against the shower door, still buried deep inside me. I am now straddling his hips and we kiss each other with all the love we have for the other.

"I love you, Tris" he says breathlessly.

"I love you too" I say, also trying to catch mine. We sit like this for a moment before we get up and actually shower.

Like so many times before we wash each other and just enjoy the closeness. I look up into Tobias's eyes and all I can see is love and devotion. Whenever he looks at me like this I feel like I'm the most precious thing in this world and I can't keep the huge smile, that always spreads on my face, from appearing.

"What?" he asks intrigued.

"Nothing. I was just thinking how lucky I am to have you in my life" I say.

"I'm the lucky one" he says bending down and pecking my lips gently.

"Let's agree we are both lucky" I say with a chuckle.

"Agreed."

We finish up in the shower and head into our bedroom where we get dressed. I want to put on some sweatpants and a baggy shirt, since I assumed we would stay home, but Tobias stops me.

"I'm taking you out on a lunch date" he says.

"What?" I ask curious and smile up at him.

"It's Valentine's Day after all and we haven't had a date just the two of us in far too long" he says.

"Where are we going?" I ask, wanting to know mostly to assess what clothes I should wear.

"We're going out, so put on some warm clothes. It's sunny outside, but it's still the middle of February. I don't want you to get sick" he says.

"You should put on warm clothes too. It's not like I'm the only one who can get sick" I say hinting on what happened a few weeks ago when he got a cold.

"You loved nursing me back to health. Admit it" he teases.

"I love taking care of you. What I absolutely dislike is to see you in pain or sick."

"Alright. I'll get a warm sweater." He gets dressed and tells me he needs to run an errand. I want to ask what errand, but he already left the bedroom and a moment later I hear the front door open and close. I finish getting dressed and proceed to dry my hair properly. Since we're going out I need to make sure it's all dry so that I don't catch a cold. I wonder what he's up to? I have something special prepared for later tonight, but I hid it so he wouldn't find it too early. I hope he likes it. It's a little bold, but it's just for the two of us.

When I'm finishing in the bathroom I put the blow dryer away and walk outside. I decide not to put on make-up since Tobias likes it better when I don't. I only apply some when we go to work or out with our friends. When it's just the two of us we don't need anything fancy. Our Abnegation upbringing might be a factor. I chuckle at that thought.

I go downstairs to find Tobias sitting at the kitchen island drinking coffee.

"Why haven't you come up?" I ask sitting next to him. He turns to look at me and smiles.

"I just came home and I heard you upstairs. I figured I'd drink a coffee and let you finish in peace. I didn't want to bother you" he says sipping his coffee.

"Honey, you never bother me" I say caressing his face. "So, wanna tell me where you disappeared earlier?"

"I went to get what we need for our date" he says smirking.

"And that would be?" I inquire. He tilts his head toward the living room and I look in that direction. On the coffee table is a picnic basket. "A picnic?" I ask almost disbelievingly.

"Yeah. We haven't had the chance to do this in a while and I thought today would be the perfect occasion. Just the two of us. Alone. Undisturbed" he says hugging me.

"And where are we going?"

"Can't you guess?"

"The Navy Pier?" I ask and he bobs his head. "Under the Ferris Wheel?" He bobs his head again and a wide grin spreads on his face.

I kiss him on the lips, but don't deepen it. This is so perfect. He is so perfect. I squeal in excitement and he chuckles at my obviously childish behavior, but I can't contain it.

He finishes his coffee and we walk hand in hand to the garage. We get into the car and I hold the basket in my lap. I tried to look inside, but Tobias closed the basket before I could take a good peek. I pout but he just shakes his head no. I finally give in and we drive in almost complete silence toward our destination.

"You never told me how the meeting with Evelyn and the ex-Dauntless went" he says after a while.

"Good. I guess" I say looking out the window.

"You guess? What happened?" he inquires further.

"Well" I say and turn to look at him. He turns his gaze from the road to me and then back trying to pay attention to the street before us, but also trying to get a glimpse of my face to see if something is bothering me. "It went well, I suppose. It was awkward. They don't trust me and I don't blame them."

"I should have gone with you" he says angry at himself.

"No, baby" I say putting my hand over his. "It was better this way. We don't want to ambush them. Besides I was safe. Evelyn was really nice and put them in their place when they stepped out of line."

"I'm sorry they disrespected you" he says.

"It wasn't really like that. They don't trust me and I can understand it. They were basically kicked out of the only home they have ever known and then Evelyn promises them revenge only to be forced to take it back. I asked them if they would consider coming back" I say and look at his face.

"And?" he asks glancing at me. I sigh and turn my gaze in front of me.

"They refused to hear it. They said that they found a new home. I didn't argue further. I told them my offer still stands and if they change their mind they should send word to me through Evelyn. They attacked her" I say and his head snaps to me.

"Did they hurt you? Her?" he asks concerned.

"No. Not physically. But your mom is quite intimidating when she wants to. Kinda like you" I say with a chuckle but his expression remains unchanged. "I promise, nothing happened. They accused her of changing sides. That the moment she saw an opportunity to bond with her long lost son she took it and betrayed them."

"What did she have to say?" he asks curious.

"She said they got that only half right. Yes, as soon as the opportunity came to bond with you she took it, but she didn't betray them. In fact, the reason why she even listened to me was because of me and what I did. When they mockingly asked what I did she gave them several examples, the soup kitchen being only one of them. She told them even the fact that she was there to offer membership to ex-Dauntless if they wanted it was proof that I was on their side. When they asked me if I wanted to abolish the faction system however I couldn't lie to them. It wouldn't have been fair."

"What happened then? What did you say?"

"I told them the truth. I didn't want to abolish the faction system. And considering that most people in the city didn't want that either they looked at me like they wanted to rip my throat out."

"That's it. You are not going back there alone" he states. I knew that he would react like this. This is why I kept it to myself until now.

"I would love if you would come with me next time I go. But you have to promise me to not start a fight. The situation is very delicate and I can't risk it to get out of hand" I firmly say and he looks at me surprised.

"Don't give me that look. I love you, baby, but sometimes you are a real bonehead. This matter needs finesse not fists" I say. He keeps looking at me, but then smiles a little.

"I love you too."

"They need to see that what I'm doing is for everyone's good, but I can't force them. They need to figure it out by themselves. I will return and talk to them. I won't try to convince them, just talk, about what I want to do and how my actions will affect all of us. I also explained to them that if we would start a war the way they wanted it, it would only tear us apart and create more conflict. I've talked to others as well. Many of the factionless aren't okay with the current system, but they get my point. They would like to be treated better and I think I managed to convince them to help me build a better future. I think your mom has come around too. She has been following me around, mostly because she wanted to hear what I had to say to her people and probably because you asked her to keep me safe, but I don't mind. I want her to see that I'm no threat to her and that I want to help."

"I'm glad you get along with her. She can be really stubborn sometimes, but over these past months I realized that she isn't a bad person. Sometimes misguided and blind, but not bad."

"I agree. But more importantly she really tries to have a real relationship with you and that's all that matters to me. The rest is just politics and I can handle stubborn politicians. I mean, I have to put up with your father every time the council meets."

"Yeah" he only says before scoffing. "He isn't rude to you, is he?"

"No. He isn't my biggest fan but I can handle him. He realized that I'm not one to mess with."

"You still need to be careful. He is dangerous and I don't want you to let your guard down" he says concerned, taking my hand in his and lifting it to his lips. He places a gentle kiss to the back of my hand before he rests both of our hands on his right knee.

"I won't. Don't worry. I forgot to tell you" I say and he turns to look at me. "Guess who I saw."

"Who?"

"Myra."

"I haven't heard from her in a long time" he says. It's true. After our meeting several months back Myra had contacted me a few times via the phone I gave her. She tried to get closer to Edward during this time. At first he seemed to dismiss her, but after I got kidnapped and especially after Evelyn moved heaven and earth to find me he isolated himself a little from her. This gave Myra the opportunity to get closer to him again. They are not girlfriend-boyfriend but they are friends.

"Yeah. I ran into her while walking through the factionless sector. I made it appear like I haven't seen her since initiation. I went to talk to her and fortunately she went with it. We talked only little and just basic stuff as to not draw attention. But I figured maybe if I return to the factionless sector I might be able to talk to her without drawing suspicion."

"Maybe. But you still need to be careful. Not just for your sake, but hers as well. Any news on the Edward front?" he asks.

"No. He seems to have isolated himself. He only talks to her now, but only briefly when she brings him food or clothing. She managed to gain his trust, but we both agreed not to push it for a while. He didn't seem stable to me by what she told me. I couldn't get into more details because we weren't alone. She will keep me posted."

"Good. We're here" he says and I look out my window and see that Ferris Wheel right in front of us. The sight of it brings a smile on my lips. I unbuckle and get out of the car, the basket firmly in my hand. Tobias follows me shortly, grabbing a blanket from the trunk. He takes my hand in his larger one and we walk together to our spot under the Wheel. Tobias sets the blanket where the sun shines brightly to keep us warm and I set the basket down.

"Wanna climb it?" I ask and Tobias gives me an almost terrified look. I chuckle at that and he smiles a little, albeit forced.

"Don't make jokes" he warns, but laughs immediately.

"Don't worry, I'll catch you" I say wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Come on, let's lie down for a while" he says and we both lie on the already warm blanket. We watch the clouds pass and we talk about our wedding, what we would want and what not and at some point Tobias remains suspiciously quiet.

"What's wrong, baby?" I ask propping myself on my elbow.

"I was thinking" he says vaguely.

"About?"

"I don't want to get married like this" he says and I feel like fainting. What is he trying to tell me? That he changed his mind? Can't be. We just talked so happily about our wedding plans. He must have sensed my mood change, because he sits up and cups my face with his hands. "That's not what I meant, love" he says and I look at him confused. "I mean, I don't want to get married as Four. Yes, he is a part of me, but I want you to be my wife" he says smiling. He might think he's making himself clear, but he obviously doesn't.

"You need to explain" I say, my voice trembling a little from the strong emotions I just experienced.

"I mean, I want to get married as me" he says but when he sees that I still don't get it he adds "as Tobias." Now I understand.

"Are you sure?" I ask. "Tobias, you worked really hard to keep your identity hidden from everyone" I say and he just looks at me lovingly.

"I know. But I want to get married as Tobias, not Four. For years I concealed my identity because I felt ashamed, I felt like even if I would tell people my story they wouldn't believe me or worse they would pity me. But that doesn't matter to me. Your opinion is the only one I truly value. People that I love and love me back know the truth and they accept me for who I am, scars included. I don't care anymore if people know that I'm Marcus Eaton's son, the one that that bastard beat to a pulp every chance he got. That doesn't matter anymore. I'm not that person anymore. I'm strong and brave and that's because of you. Before I met you I only put on a brave face, but you give me so much strength and love. It would be an offense toward you to marry you as someone other than myself. I want to get married as Tobias Eaton and I want you to be Mrs. Eaton and I want to wash that name clean, I want it to be associated with respect and loyalty and the eternal love I have for you. And maybe one day when you will give me my children they can look up to me and say they are proud of their father" he says and I feel streams of tears running down my cheeks.

"Tobias, that was the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed. I love you so much and no matter what life will bring us we will get through it."

"You and me against the world" he says.

"Damn right" I say and hug him tightly to me. We kiss passionately and fall back onto the blanket. We make out for several minutes until air becomes an issue and we part. We are panting heavily but our faces betray our true emotions – love and devotion. Tobias bends down to kiss me when his stomach makes it clear to us it's time to eat. We laugh and get up into a sitting position. "Wanna tell me what is in there that I couldn't see until now?" I ask and he smirks.

"Close your eyes" he says and I do as I'm told. I hear him work but I keep my eyes shut as promised. "Alright, open them." I open my eyes and see lasagna and cake and two glasses with what seems cider and Tobias is holding one single red rose in his hand.

"Happy Valentine's, love" he says smiling brightly.

"Happy Valentine's to you too. Where did you get all this?" I ask while taking the rose from him and smelling it's wonderful scent.

"I made it" he simply states.

"What? Really?" I ask surprised.

"Don't be so surprised. You are not the only one who can cook and bake" he says pouting. I lean forward and kiss the pout away.

"I know baby. Is that Red Velvet?" I ask pointing toward the cake.

"Yeah. I got Cara to give me the recipe. I noticed how much you liked it when we visited them in Erudite and I asked her to give it to me. I tried it out a couple of times before it was edible" he says and I chuckle "but I think this one is alright" he says scratching his neck nervously.

"I'm sure it's delicious" I say. "Thank you. You are too good to me."

"No. You are the one that's too good for me."

"I love you, Tobias."

"I love you, Tris. Come on. Let's eat. I'm starving" he says and I laugh. Well, when my man is hungry I need to feed him. I take a fork full of lasagna and feed it to him and he does the same to me. We feed each other both the lasagna and the cake and spend another hour just enjoying the warm, sunny day and each other's company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?


	54. Chapter 54

54

We finish up at the Navy Pier and return home. We soon park the car and head back home. Unfortunately, we pass Will and Christina and they practically beg us to join our group later for supper in the cafeteria and then later to hit the nightclub. I protest at first but Christina makes it difficult to say no. I glance toward Tobias who shrugs and I finally give in. I really wanted something else for tonight, but I guess we just need to postpone it for even later, because I won't give up on my plans with him. We say goodbye to our friends and get home. Tobias takes care of the dirty dishes from our lunch picnic while I go upstairs to pick my outfit for tonight. I decide on a strapless formfitting, knee-high black dress, which I match with my favorite pair of four-inch boots. I decide to wear my heart necklace Tobias gave me for Christmas and pull my hair back in a ponytail.

I walk into the bathroom then freshen up before I change into the sexy outfit. Tobias soon joins me and brushes his teeth right next to me. While he's shaving I go into the bedroom and pick my underwear. I decide on semi-see-through panties and similar strapless bra. I barely managed to put on my dress avoiding Tobias to see my bold undergarments.

"Can I help you?" he asks with a chuckle when he sees I'm struggling with the zipper of my dress.

"Sure." I let go of it and expect Tobias to pull it up, instead he pulls it down and I turn around to scold him, but before I can even open my mouth to say something his lips crash over mine and he kisses me hungrily. When we finally part we both pant heavily. "You were supposed to zip it up, not down" I say trying to catch my breath.

"Sorry, my bad" he says with a sexy smirk on his face. "I'm so used to undress you that my hands acted all by themselves" he says nonchalantly.

"Yeah, right" I say sarcastically. "Come on, honey. Our friends will be in the cafeteria soon. We can resume this later" I say.

"I start to regret going at all" he says with a pout.

"I could have told you that when they asked us" I say chuckling and slipping into my boots.

"Have I told you how hot you look in those boots?" he asks.

"Every time I put them on" I say laughing.

"Well, you do."

"Shut up and change" I say smacking his arm lightly. He presses a kiss to my cheek and goes to his dresser. He picks out some dark colored jeans and a black skin tight tee shirt that reveals his gorgeous upper body.

"Ready?" he asks. I only nod and smile brightly. He takes my hand and leads me down to the cafeteria. We pass several Dauntless who greet us friendly and tell me how beautiful I look. For most of these encounters Tobias smiles proudly to have me by his side, but a few rather tipsy Dauntless men whistle when I pass them and Tobias glares at them. When they realize who we are they apologize and I barely manage to hold back a giggle.

"It's not funny" Tobias says a little upset.

"It is a little bit" I say amused.

"They are disrespectful with my future wife."

"They are drunk. They didn't even recognize who you were let alone me" I say trying to calm him a little.

"That doesn't matter. They shouldn't be disrespectful to any woman" he states.

"I agree. I'm sorry. You are a real gentleman, you know?" I say and he raises an eyebrow. "What? It's true. Behind this intimidating Four persona you are a real gentleman and a sweetheart" I say leaning up and kissing his cheek. He stops in his tracks and pulls me into a tight hug. We start kissing gently, but it soon becomes more demanding. We lose ourselves in this wonderful sensation until someone shouts "Get a room" and we break apart. We look toward who was yelling and recognize Zeke.

"What the hell, dude?" Tobias asks glaring at his best friend.

"I know you guys are in love and all, but you are gross" he says and makes a disgusted face.

"Hey, we are not disgusting" I say offended.

"Well, yeah know" he trails off and walks into the cafeteria. I look up at Tobias and he has a mischievous grin on his face.

"What?" I ask curious.

"We should bug him so more with our grossness" he says and I laugh.

"Yeah, we should" I join his light laughter.

We walk inside the cafeteria and I'm momentarily taken aback by the beautiful décor in front of me. The whole room is in a soft red-pinkish light enveloped, the tables are covered in crimson cloth and black and red candles light the room giving it a romantic allure. We walk toward our regular desk and sit next to our friends.

"Wow, Tris, your dress is gorgeous" Marlene says and I blush a little.

"Thank you. You look great in yours as well. You all do" I tell my friends. "And how handsome all the gentleman are" I add.

"How's it going?" Tobias asks our friends.

"You know, same ol' same ol'" Zeke answers for all.

"Dude, we really need to do something together. We used to have fun" Uriah whines.

"And what do you have in mind?" Will asks.

"How about play some ball?" Uriah suggests.

"Play ball?" I ask.

"Basketball" Zeke clarifies.

"We can do that" Tobias says excited. "We haven't done that in a while."

"Since before initiation, man" Zeke says. "Way too long" he adds and we laugh.

"How about we do this next Saturday?" Tobias asks them.

"Sure" Will agrees and Zeke and Uriah nod in agreement.

"And what about us girls?" Marlene asks.

"Babe, you need to let me be a man, even if it's hard" Uriah says extra theatrical.

"I meant, what do we girls do? You can be all the man you want, but before you go to sleep you shower or I swear you sleep outside" Marlene scolds and we laugh.

"We could have a spa day" Christina suggests. Of course, she would suggest that. But I have to admit we haven't done that in a while. Sure we went a couple of days ago to get a wax, but a full spa day that'll be nice.

"Yeah, that's a great idea. I can't wait to get a real massage" Shauna beams.

"Hey, I give you massages all the time" Zeke shouts offended.

"Yeah, baby, I know you do, but there's something about Camy that is hard to describe. It's just out of this world" she says with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"I agree. No one touches me like Camy" Christina says and the rest of us nod happily.

"Should we be worried?" Will asks and I look around. Every guy at our table, including Tobias, looks at us with a mixture of shock, disbelief and jealousy.

"Absolutely" Shauna quickly answers and I watch Tobias who is now raising an eyebrow.

"No one ever gave me that much pleasure like Camy" Marlene says, teasing the guys.

"I could get lost in Camy's touch" Christina chimes in.

"Okay, we need to straighten this guy out. You are our women. No one is allowed to touch you" Zeke says firmly and all the guys nod in agreement.

"Camy is allowed" all the girls, including me say in unison which makes the guys look silly at us.

"You too, Tris?" Tobias asks in disbelief.

"Yeah" I say and can barely hold back my laughter.

"Okay, girls, I think we teased them enough" Shauna says.

"I agree. If we continue this they will probably explode" Marlene says bursting out laughing.

"Can someone tell me what's so funny?" Uriah asks confused.

"It's sweet that you guys are so protective and the jealousy is somewhat cute" I start saying looking around before my gaze remains on Tobias's face. "Camy is a girl. Camy is short for Camilla. She is a massage therapist at the spa and she quickly became a friend" I explain. I can see Tobias's face soften as realization hits him. From the corner of my eye I can see that the other guys sigh in relief.

"You girls suck" Uriah says scoffing.

"Like you don't like it" Lynn says sitting down. Uriah blushes and changes the subject.

"And where were you?" he asks.

"None of your business" she answers abruptly.

"What's wrong, sis?" Shauna asks her.

"Nothing. Can we please talk about something else" she says. Clearly not wanting to be questioned any further.

"Sure" Shauna says somewhat defeated.

We all start filling our plates and eat and chat and just have a good time. We talk about mine and Tobias's wedding, Shauna's pregnancy, plans for the future, what we want to do for the faction, we talk about the new initiates that will join us coming June and many other things. By the time we finally get up from our table most tables are clear and we go down to the Pit where the nightclub is. Tobias snakes his left arm around my waist signaling to any male Dauntless to back off. He is really cute when he gets all territorial. The nightclub is crowded but we manage to find a table albeit not with many seats left. Therefore the girls sit in their partner's laps, which the guys absolutely don't mind. Tobias and I dance to several songs both rhythmic and slow until eleven p.m. when we excuse ourselves. Our friends protest at first but we tell them we want to spend what is left of Valentine's Day alone and they all give us a knowing look. I roll my eyes at them and blush a little, but shake it off quickly. Tobias grabs my hand and leads me home. On our way back we talk and laugh and hug each other close. When we finally reach our apartment door Tobias unlocks it and before I can walk inside he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder eliciting a fit of giggling that is almost hysterical. I think I'm a little tipsy.

Tobias expertly locks the door behind us and runs up the stairs and into our bedroom. He manages to take his shoes off while I'm still on his shoulder. When he's done he throws me on the bed and thankfully it's a big bed, otherwise I would have fallen off when I bounced back. This action causes me to laugh even harder and Tobias joins me on the bed. He hovers over me and gazes down into my eyes. I start calming down and let myself drown in his beautiful dark blue eyes.

"I love you" he softly whispers.

"I love you too" I reply before pulling him down to my lips and kissing him passionately.

We kiss hungrily and explore whatever exposed skin we can find before Tobias growls loudly. He pulls away and I wonder what happened.

"You are too dressed" he states. I look at him a bit surprised before I laugh.

"Really? I'm the one who is too dressed? This dress barely covers anything, while you are almost completely covered." He kneels before me and starts to pull his shirt over his head, but I stop him. He looks at me quizzically and I smile.

"Allow me" I say grabbing the hem of his shirt and he smiles back. I slowly pull it off of him and expose his torso to me.

We kneel in front of each other but I realize this is not how I want him. I give him a slight push and he lets himself fall backwards on the mattress still smiling brightly. I lean over him and start covering his face with little kisses. I kiss his forehead, his eyelids, his cheeks, his jaw and finally his full lips. I start by placing soft kisses on them before licking his lips with my tongue asking for permission to enter and explore his mouth. He immediately grants me access and we explore each other's mouths in a passionate kiss. We pull apart to draw in much needed air and I continue my worship of his body by kissing and sucking lightly his throat, his pulse point leaving a hickey on my way down to his collarbone. I kiss and nibble and suck and lick every inch of his marvelous body. I place a kiss on his erect nipple and bite lightly the hardened bud. He squirms underneath my touch and moans my name. I smile in satisfaction. When I'm done with one nipple I switch to the other and give it the same attention and treatment until he begs me for more. I oblige and travel down his abs to his navel where I push my tongue inside eliciting a deep and feral growl from him. I feel the bulge in his pants pressing and pulsating against the fabric and I can only assume that it is painful for him. Patience, my love. I'll be right there where you need me. I finally reach his pants and make quick work of unbuckling him and pulling them down. I get off of the bed and let the jeans fall to the ground, followed immediately by his black cotton socks. I place my hand over his still covered erection and caress it lightly and he groans loudly. I love to tease him, but I know the torture I put him through. So I grab the hem of his boxer briefs and pull them down in one swift movement. His manhood stands majestically in front of me twitching in anticipation of what is to come. I envelope it with my hand and start moving my hand up and down his shaft at first very slow but increasing the pace ever so slightly. I can feel him squirm beneath my fingertips and I know he is almost there. I think for a moment to continue this with my hand but I want to taste him. I bend down and place a gentle kiss to the head and lick his shaft from hilt to tip and Tobias draws in air and shudders for a moment. I open my mouth as wide as I can and take him in until he hits the back of my throat. I start bobbing my head over his penis, compensating with my hand what my mouth couldn't enclose. I increase my speed and I hear him moaning. He thrusts his hips up and holds the back of my head down on his manhood, but still making sure not to hurt me or cause me any discomfort. I feel him get bigger in my mouth and the next moment he spills his seed deep inside it and I swallow it eagerly, like it's the best thing I've ever tasted. I suck him off before I release him from my grip and look up at him. He has his eyes closed and pants heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly, still recovering from the orgasm I just gave him. I smile to myself, proud that I can give him such pleasure. I crawl up his body and settle next to him, propping my head on my elbow.

"Thank you, baby" he says still panting but with a big smile on his face.

"My pleasure" I reply.

"Oh no, the pleasure was all mine" he says grinning. He pulls me close to him and kisses me thoroughly and I feel like flying. When he let's go of me he stares at me for a second before practically jumping up. "Now you are overdressed" he states. I smile and turn around lying face down on my stomach. He starts to unzip my dress and pulls it down until I'm lying only in my see-through black underwear. I turn around so that he can actually see it and he doesn't disappoint when he looks over my body with what I can only describe as a predatory look. "I like your outfit" he says and I start laughing.

"Well, I like yours better" I say running my fingers over his rock hard abs.

He bends down and kisses me hard and hungry and we only part to breathe. When he leaves my lips he travels to my jaw and places open-mouthed kisses along my jaw line. He sucks and bites my pulse point, marking me as his own, and kisses each of my ravens lingering over his. When he finally reaches my aching breasts he takes a hold of both of them kneading them through the fabric and placing soft kisses on top of them. He bites down on my hardened nub enough to elicit a deep guttural moan, but not too much to actually hurt me. His right hand goes behind me and unclasps the bra and Tobias takes it off of me with his teeth. God, he's sexy. He smiles devilishly when he exposes my breasts and bends down once more covering my right breast with his mouth, sucking and licking it thoroughly, while kneading my left with his hand. He continues his worship for a few more minutes all the while my temperature increases exponentially that I feel like I will spontaneously combust if he keeps this up. He finally travels further south, passes my navel, but not before sticking his tongue inside making me lift my back of the bed in pleasure and reaches my already soaked panties. He places a soft kiss on my womanhood before licking my folds through the fabric. By now I'm completely lost and gone insane from all the pleasure he has caused me and all I want now is to feel his rock-hard cock pounding me like there's no tomorrow.

He takes his time removing the last piece of clothing and I swear I can't take it anymore. I growl loudly when his fingers brush my inner thighs and I almost come undone, but manage somehow, through a godly miracle, to keep it together. My panties are finally removed and join the pile of clothes on our bedroom floor, but I couldn't care less about that, when this perfect man is about to make love to me and I'm so willing to give myself to him completely and without a doubt.

"You like this?" he asks and I only nod my head, unable to form even the slightest of sound other than groans and moans.

He gets off the bed and kneels before it holding my thighs in place. He sticks his tongue out and licks leisurely my wet folds and I moan his name loudly. He continues this slow torture but presents me with the gift of his tongue in my aching pussy. He sticks it in and pulls it back out several times while rubbing my sensitive bundle of nerves. He stimulates my clit and keeps licking my folds, but replaced his tongue with two fingers that are now pounding me relentlessly and I feel my orgasm approaching quickly. He thrusts harder and deeper in me and I curl up my toes, grab onto the sheets, shut my eyes and cry out his name when one of the most intense orgasms of my life hits me like a tidal wave of pure pleasure. I'm hit by several aftershocks of this orgasm until my body finally stops shaking and I fall back onto the bed with the biggest smile my face could manage without tearing it apart.

"I love to eat your pussy" I hear him say and I grin at his bluntness. I open my eyes and stare into his lust filled ones. "You up for the next round?" he asks with a mischievous grin and I nod happily.


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Smut ahead! Lots of it!

55

Tobias positions himself between my thighs, teasing me with the tip of his cock while kissing my lips. We don't rush things, there's no need to. We have all night. He trails soft kisses down my neck and to my collarbone setting my skin on fire. It's amazing how quickly he is able to ignite a new blazing fire within me shortly after giving me such an intense orgasm. I close my eyes and enjoy the wonderful ministrations. He starts suckling on one of my nipples and this simple action sends a bolt of electricity through my body and makes me even wetter than I already am. He feels me squirm underneath him and smiles.

"Tobias, stop teasing" I whine.

"What do you want, love?" he asks in a husky voice.

"Fuck me" I shout when he bites lightly on my hardened bud.

"With pleasure" he says with a cocky grin on his face.

He rubs his cock on my wet pussy and with one powerful thrust he buries himself to the hilt. We both moan at the intense sensation before staring into each other's eyes for a minute.

"I love you" he whispers to me.

"I love you too" I reply quickly.

He pulls back out, almost completely, before thrusting back in repeating this action a few times before his thrusts become quicker and shallower. He increases his pace slightly and I feel my whole body shaking in anticipation of what is about to come. I hold onto him for dear life, digging my nails into his back and scratching him no doubt, while he sucks and bites my neck breathing rapidly onto my skin. The pleasure builds up to new heights and before I know it I go momentarily blind by the intensity of my release, followed closely by Tobias who spills his seed deep within me with a loud groan followed by my name. He collapses over me for a moment, unable to hold himself up anymore, but I don't mind. I love feeling him so close to me, spend after we made sweet love to one another, giving ourselves completely.

We are both panting heavily when he pushes himself up from the mattress and tries to leave my body. I wrap my legs tightly around his waist to keep him in place and pull his head back to me to lie on my chest right over my heart.

"Honey, I'm heavy" he says with a chuckle.

"You are not" I say stubbornly.

"Yes, I am" he says with a small laugh.

"I love the way you feel inside me. And I love how you lie on top of me after we make love. I feel closer to you than ever" I say sincerely.

"I know, love. I feel the same way. But I don't want to crush you" he says looking up and into my eyes. He puts his arms tightly around my frame and flips us over so that I am now on top of him. He managed to still remain sheathed inside me and I smile. "Now it's better" he says with satisfaction in his voice.

"Happy Valentine's Day, baby" I say and place a soft kiss to his lips.

"Happy Valentine's to you too, my love." We smile at each other for a moment before I remember I still have something for him. We agreed to not overdue it with the gifts, but I found something that we both might enjoy. At least I hope.

"Oh damn. I forgot to give you your present" I say.

"Present? I thought this was my present" he says running his hand up and down my sweat covered back.

"Baby, you get that every day. That's not special" I say chuckling.

"First, I don't get it every day. And second, it is special. It was special the first time. It was special the hundredth time and it will be special the millionth time" he says and I smile at his sweetness.

"I need to get up" I say with a frown and he laughs. He knows I don't want to. I'm too comfy right now. "Wait here. I'll be right back" I say and get off of him. I walk the short distance to the wardrobe where I put his present. I open it and bend over to retrieve it.

"Nice view" I hear him say.

"Perv" I say back.

"Hey. You are my fiancée. I am allowed to look at your assets" he says. I turn my head enough to look at him and he has a smug grin on his face.

I pick up the tube and return to the bed. I kneel down in front of Tobias and hand it to him. He looks at it and then at me with a confused look on his face.

"What is it?" he asks curious.

"Open it and see for yourself" I say with a shy smile on my face.

He opens the tube and empties it on the bed. He looks at the paint tubes and the canvas and doesn't understand what it means. He looks up to me for an answer.

"It's to express our love for each other" I say but he still doesn't get it. How can I explain this without turning into a tomato? I breathe in and let the air out. I close my eyes and think of how to say it. When I open them I watch Tobias looking at me with a smile on his face. "We put the canvas over the bed and then we use the paint tubes to cover our bodies with it." He looks from me to the items on the bed and it seems that he starts to understand what I'm implying.

"We paint ourselves and then make love on the canvas" he states with a huge grin on his face. I only nod, unable to say anything. "That's the best idea you've ever had" he says before crashing his lips over mine. We kiss passionately before we pull apart to breathe in again.

"What do you mean the best idea? I always have good ideas" I say smacking his arm lightly.

"I know. But this one… you outdid yourself, babe" he says and kisses me again.

"Come on, let's try it out" I say enthusiastically.

We get off of the bed and spread the large canvas over our sheet. Tobias gets a few older towels and spreads them on the floor to avoid getting paint splatters on the carpet. We have several tubes with paint – red, yellow, green, blue, pink, orange and purple. We put thick layers of each color on our bodies and I giggle every time Tobias touches me behind my knees or when he runs his fingers down my spine. He knows I'm ticklish there and he enjoys it to the fullest to torment me. When we are fully covered we ponder on how we are going to do this.

"We are going to switch positions in between to get as much paint on the canvas as possible" he suggests. I nod and lay down on the bed. "Damn" he says and frowns.

"What?" I ask confused.

"We are both covered in the paint."

"So?"

"I won't be able to kiss you where ever I like" he says a little frustrated. I smile at him.

"There are a few places that aren't covered" I say and point toward my lips. Although my face is covered in pink and yellow and his in green and purple both our lips are free of the chemicals. He grins and crashes his lips to mine letting himself go in this passionate kiss. We press our bodies together mingling the various colors that are spread over our naked bodies. We roll over and now I'm on top straddling his hips. I place both my hands on each side of his head and kiss his lips. He lets his hands roam over my naked back caressing every inch available to him. We roll like this a few more times until the sexual tension between us becomes unbearable and Tobias slides inside me with one powerful thrust. He establishes a steady rhythm and I meet each of his downward thrust with matching ones of my own. We love each other in this position until Tobias slides out and tells me to turn around. I get on my knees but he pushes me gently back down on the mattress lifting only my ass a little. He positions himself at my entrance, my legs pressed together and him straddling my behind, he thrusts into me relentlessly, both of us enjoying the new sensation this position offers. I hold both my hands over my head and Tobias places his larger one over mine intertwining our fingers while keeping a steady pace. We soon change our position again, I lay on my left side and Tobias places his arm under my right knee lifting my leg enough to penetrate me. His thrusts alternate between slow and deep to quick and shallow, but I don't mind. He drives me crazy and when I think I'm able to come he slows down to change our position again and again and again. We finish this amazing love making session with me on top riding his cock like there's no tomorrow. I slam my hips on his pelvis and he thrusts upwards to meet each and every one of my movements. We both come at the same time and cry out the other's name. I fall onto of him and he envelops me in his embrace, both of us panting heavily but happier than should be legally allowed. When we finally catch our breaths I push myself up to look into his amazing dark blue eyes that are now sparkling brightly.

"That was something else" he says and we both laugh.

"Yeah, it was. Let's see how it looks" I say and I get off of him. We both stand up and look at the canvas on the bed.

"Wow, that's colorful" he says chuckling.

"It is. I think it looks great. Looks like a dream" I say and I hear Tobias stifling a laugh. "What?"

"A bit cheesy, don't you think?" he asks.

"Well, yeah. I mean it though. I mean the colors and the way they intertwine" I say.

"I guess so. I was never really an art fan" he confesses. "So, where are we going to hang it?"

"I'm not going to hang it" I say looking up at him.

"What? Why not?"

"Because."

"I thought it's a declaration of our love" he says with a chuckle and an amused look on his face.

"It is, but it's also a representation of our butts" I say pointing at an imprint of what is clearly my butt.

"Oh, let me fix that" he says squeezing some red paint into his right palm and rubbing his hands together. He then gently places his hand over my butt impression and grins. "That's it. All better."

"How's that better?" I ask amused.

"Clearly your butt needed my hand on it" he says grinning even wider.

"You're nuts" I say rolling my eyes.

"Nuts about you" he replies and wraps me in his arms. He kisses my lips and picks me up in his arms.

"What are you doing?" I ask laughing.

"Taking you to the shower. You got all dirty" he says.

"What about our masterpiece?" I say pointing toward the bed.

"While we clean up the paint will dry and then we can put it down on the floor. I still think we should hang it."

"Nah-ah. I don't want anyone to see this" I say.

"How about we put it in the bedroom? No one comes in there anyway. And even if we can say we got it from an artist in Amity. I've seen a few weird paintings there when I had my meeting with Johanna" he says.

"I'll think about it" I say.

"Come on, babe" he says pouting.

"Alright. I'll think about it" I say and he smiles. Damn him and his puppy dog eyes.

We shower together and make sure to remove all the paint. It's a freaking miracle that we don't end up fooling around, but I guess we are both too tired by now. We can always get down to business tomorrow morning. Wouldn't be the first time we are late for work.

When we are finally done in the bathroom we dry ourselves and slip into our PJ's. I help Tobias get the canvas downstairs into the living room to dry further. I finally gave into his request and tomorrow I will talk to Tori about getting it framed, leaving out the part as to how we got it in the first place. We go to bed and cuddle for a while whispering sweet nothings to each other until we fall asleep.

The next morning I wake up early. Tobias is still sleeping and I decide to get up. I manage somehow to leave his warm embrace without waking him and go downstairs to make breakfast. I walk past the living room and look at the love painting in the middle of the room. A smile forms on my face and the memory of last night comes rushing back to mind. I shake my head and walk into the kitchen to start preparing our meal. I'm not even a minute in there when Tobias embraces me from behind like so many times before.

"Morning, love" he says in his deeper morning voice.

"Good morning, honey. Sleep well?"

"Wonderful."

"What do you want for breakfast?" I ask him while turning around and kissing him softly on the lips.

"You" he answers and I laugh.

"Funny. I was thinking the same about you" I say and he joins my laughter.

"Maybe we should just have each other for breakfast" he suggests. I look toward the clock in the living room and see that it's eight a.m. We might be late – again – if we fool around now.

"As much as I'd like that we have to go to work soon and I really want to eat some real food" I say and he turns around to check the time. He sighs loudly and turns back to look at me.

"Rain check?" he asks and I nod.

"So, breakfast?"

"Eggs, bacon, coffee" he answers, his standard food after fooling around. I chuckle at that thought.

"Why am I not surprised?" I ask.

We prepare everything together. Well I'm in charge of the food while he makes the coffee. We sit down at the island and eat our meal talking about what we have on the agenda today. I decide to check into my office before driving to the Hub for my meeting with the council and he tells me he has some meetings with Zeke and Walsh regarding our point theft problem.

Even after so many months we have no new leads but fortunately there were no more reports of missing funds, which on one hand is a good thing, but on the other it means that whoever is doing this is either more careful since Tobias, Tori and I became leaders or worse that person or persons know about us knowing. Either way we need to solve this mystery, sooner rather than later.

Today I'll talk to the council about the return of a few ex-Dauntless who now live factionless. There are five people in total who became factionless illegally. I hope I can make a good case for them today, especially since they aren't factionless because they don't belong, but because they were forced out of the faction by our former leaders. I'm glad that at least some of them reconsidered my proposal. I was so happy when Evelyn called me and told me about this and I'm glad that these five people chose to return. Two of them are Divergent and left the compound because they feared for their lives. The other three left because the former leaders "suggested" it given the fact that they are older and aren't as fit as the younger Dauntless around here. I think I can make a good case in front of the council. Even though we could welcome them back, regardless of what the council has to say I don't want to antagonize anyone and I need their support for future endeavors.

We finish our meal and while Tobias cleans up I rush upstairs to brush my teeth and get changed for work. Before I'm done Tobias joins me in the bedroom to change as well and we head downstairs to the Pire. I check my appointments for this week before I leave. I kiss Tobias goodbye and tell him I will call him during our lunch break. I get the car keys and walk to the garage to retrieve the car. I drive out of the compound thinking of what I want to say to the council.

Over the past two months I've worked almost exclusively to get this project rolling. I know I'm right I just need to make others see that too. Mom told me that I sound a little manipulative when I talk like these and I have to admit that she might be right. I basically do exactly what I swore not to do – manipulate others. I know that it is right, but I don't want the council or anyone for that matter to follow me blindly. I want them to understand why I'm doing this. I want them to see for themselves. I want them to have an open mind about things. I don't believe that just because I'm divergent I can see things others can't. Or maybe I do see them before anyone else does. But that doesn't mean that others won't. Divergents aren't necessarily smarter than anyone else. If that would be true than the Erudite would be labeled what? Stupid? Average?

I soon arrive at the Hub. I park the car and get out making sure to lock it before I enter the building. I walk into the so familiar council room and take my seat next to Jack who already looks like he could throw up.

"Morning sunshine" I say a little louder than necessary.

"Ugh, too loud" he says.

"Hangover?" I ask sitting down next to him.

"A little bit" he answers.

"Not really professional for a leader" I say teasing him.

"I had a long night" he says.

"Had fun with Vanessa?" I ask.

"Yeah" he answers without thinking and then he looks up at me with a blush. "I mean we had a party" he adds quickly.

"I'm sure you did" I say. "Did you have your coffee yet?"

"I had two before I came here, but it didn't help to wake me up."

"Stay here" I say and get up to get us both a cup of coffee. The coffee here at the Hub is probably the worst in the city, but it's strong. If this piss water doesn't wake him up I don't know what will. I return to my seat and put his cup in front of him.

"I'm not drinking that" he says.

"Yeah, you will. This stuff tastes like liquid shit, but it's stronger than anything else. I guarantee you it'll wake you up" I say holding mine in my hand. He looks up at me with a raised eyebrow and I smile.

"How'd you know?" he asks.

"'Cause it woke me up a few times, if you know what I mean" I say with a chuckle. He smiles weakly and takes a sip from his cup. He immediately makes a disgusted face, but keeps drinking it. I drink from my cup as well, trying to get it down in just a few sips.

"Why are you drinking it? You don't seem to need it" he says glancing at me.

"I don't. But you are my friend and you are in need. So this is me being a good friend" I say.

"Thanks." We drink what it's left in our paper cups and throw them away as my dad and the rest of the council walks in.

We spend the next two hours talking about current issues, discussing how to solve certain problems or how to change a law or two that are outdates, much to Marcus's dislike. Thankfully he has no more power than the rest of us. His terror reign is over and now the city can really flourish. After we wrap things up involving current problems Jonah asks if anyone has something else to address. I stand up and I can see from the corner of my eyes that Marcus rolls his eyes. I ignore him and walk into the middle of the room so that everyone can see and hear me properly.

"I come to you today with an issue that has been bothering me even before I've become a leader. To make you understand my reasoning allow me to tell you a little background story" I say and Jonah nods to me to continue. "When I chose Dauntless I had no idea what that meant. During initiation I've seen and lived things I didn't agree with. What stood out was the fact that I could hardly see old people in the compound. I asked around Dauntless-born initiates and they told me that when a Dauntless gets too old he or she just leaves. Sometimes this means they jump into the chasm or leave the compound to live factionless. Later, after I became a leader, I decided to investigate these cases. Many of those who left the compound, one way or another, were more or less pushed into taking that decision and those who couldn't be persuaded were found guilty of some crime they didn't commit. I studied several files over the past months to get a better understanding of this issue and see if some injustice was made. I've found several ex-members that were forced to leave, either by being set up for some crime or convinced that they were useless to the faction. In any case those people do not belong on the street they belong in the Dauntless compound. This is why I'm addressing this issue today in front of you. I would like to invite these people back home, where they belong" I say and look around. All of the people here are speechless and shocked. The first one to regain his voice is of course Marcus.

"That's outrageous" he yells getting up from his seat.

"What exactly?" I ask in a calm voice.

"It's unheard of" he continues.

"You need to be more specific" I say just as calm as before.

"You can't do that. It's against the law" he shouts.

"Marcus, lower your voice. No one's deaf in here" my dad says glaring at him.

"Did you know about this?" he asks my dad accusingly.

"No, I didn't" my dad answers truthfully. I might have mentioned it in passing but we never really discussed it and he had no idea I would address this matter today during our meeting.

"She can't do this" Marcus says again, this time in a lower voice, but with a menacing glare in his eyes.

"As a matter of fact I can" I say still calm. Huh, all these hours spend with Tobias made me calmer or at least helped me pretend to be calm when I'm actually raging inside.

"It's against the law" Marcus insists.

"No, it isn't. You see, Marcus, I've studied the law, especially since I knew that you would be the first and probably the only one who would challenge me. It is my right as faction leader to overrule another leader of my faction and invite a Dauntless member back. I don't need your approval or the approval of the council, but I seek it nevertheless. Over these past four months we have been working together as a team and I'm not one to work behind your backs. Before I could address this matter in front of all of you I needed to investigate every angle. I needed to know if the law would permit me to do this, I needed to know why a Dauntless member became factionless and I needed to know if that ex-member would want to come back if he or she had the chance. I did all that, I admit, without informing the council, but as I stated before this is a faction matter, not a council matter. I could just as easily inform you of my decision, but I wanted to seek your advice and approval. We are all in this together. The only thing I'm asking is to keep an open mind. What I'm asking is not to just allow anyone back into Dauntless or even other factions if you would like, but to discuss this on case by case basis. Right now I know of five former members that would want to return if they would be allowed. I talked to them and explained the situation. They know I'm talking to you and you might not want this, but I told them even though I'm a leader I'm also part of the council and I respect each and every one of you."

"Tell us about these five ex-Dauntless" Sam says and we all look at her. A small smile forms on my face before I return to my serious expression.

"Two of the people who want to return are Divergent. They chose to live factionless because they feared for their life. I think it's needless to say more about this. We all talked about this at length. The other three are over 55 years of age. They were asked to reconsider living in the faction since they were too old to be of any real use. Those were the exact same words Max used when he talked to them."

"Why did they leave?" Johanna asks.

"Yes. They could have stayed. No leader can force you out" Michael says.

"True. In theory anyway" I reply. "You see, if the former Dauntless member wanted someone gone than it actually happened. They either left willingly and had a chance to live or they ended up in the chasm. Of course, it always looked like they chose to jump in, when in fact they were most likely pushed. I heard many testimonies regarding this particular occurrence. If the council will allow me I will send to you copies of the files of these five people. You can read for yourselves and judge afterwards."

"If the council doesn't agree with inviting ex-members back into the faction will you stop pursuing this issue?" my dad asks as head of the council.

"No" I say and I hear whispers but I keep my gaze trained on my father. "As I said, this is actually my decision, not the council's. But I won't do it if any of you can argue why I shouldn't. And don't even try the it's against the law approach" I say eyeing Marcus who glares at me. "Convince me that I'm wrong and I will back off" I say.

"I think that is fair" Johanna says.

"Me too" Samantha agrees.

"Send us the files and we will study them" Jonah says and I nod my head.

"I will send the files to you by the end of business tomorrow" I say. At least one small victory today. I wouldn't have expected them to listen at all, but this… this is more than I hoped for.

"Alright. Anyone else?" Jonah asks, but no one steps forward. "Good. This concludes today's meeting. See you all next week" he says and everyone starts to walk out. I return to my seat to retrieve my belongings when I feel someone standing fairly close to me. I know who it is. I know his scent out of a million.

"What do you want?" I ask calmly, but some of my anger seethed through.

"You will not destroy this city" Marcus says.

"Destroy it?" I ask in disbelief.

"Yes" he answers and I turn around. He is really close to me but I stand as tall as I can. I'm not afraid of him. I could take him down if I wanted, but I need to remain calm.

"I want to rebuild it, something that you should have done in all those years you were our leader. Instead you beat your wife and son senseless and called it discipline" I say angry.

"What do you know girl? I only wanted what was best for my son. And as for that whore, she deserved every last bit of it" he says glaring and stepping closer to me. I stand my ground and don't move an inch.

"Beating up your child is good? Since when? He was a boy who lost his mother and you beat him up every day. He has scars not only on his back but in his soul because of you sick bastard. But he grew up to be a better man and it has nothing to do with you."

"You little bitch" he says with venom in his voice. He raises his arm in an attempt to hit me, but I grab his wrist and twist it so that he couches down in pain.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that again. I'm neither afraid of you nor am I helpless. I can beat the living daylights out of you. Blindfolded. I'm Dauntless after all. Never forget that" I say and release him. I grab my things and leave the council room and a baffled Marcus behind. He certainly didn't expect me to do that. I get in the car and drive back home. I know I should tell Tobias about this, but I'm afraid he will go to his father and beat him up. But I swore not to lie to him. I'll just need to find a way to tell him and not let him go after Marcus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: How did you like the sex scenes? Too much?
> 
> What about the gift Tris got for Tobias? I have to admit I saw this on The Big Bang Theory and thought it is an awesome idea.
> 
> What about Tris's plan for the ex-Dauntless?
> 
> And more importantly - what is that bastards problem? You know who I mean.
> 
> Also, very important. You can find pictures to my Divergent Trilogy fanfic on my Pinterest. You can find the link in my profile.


	56. Chapter 56

56

I park the car in its usual spot in the garage and go to Tobias's office to talk to him. I try the door but it's locked. I look at my watch and see that it's lunchtime already. Maybe he's in the cafeteria. I decide to go down and look for him there. On my way I see Tori and wave to her.

"Hey Tris" she greets.

"Hey Tori. Everything alright here?" I ask smiling for the first time since I left the Hub.

"Yeah. All peaceful. Well, as peaceful as you can get around here" she says and we both laugh. "What about the council meeting? You done already?"

"Yeah. I'm surprised too. But we basically work like a good oiled machine. We should only meet when necessary. These weekly meetings are really useless most of the time, but I guess better sit through a few hours with them than have to stay away from home for days because we need to lock ourselves up and solve everything in a two-day-long session" I say.

"I guess. Don't get me wrong, but I'm glad it's you that has to go to these meetings. When I had to go, because you or Four couldn't I swear I was bored out of my mind" she confesses.

"Wanna know a secret?" I ask and she nods. "I'm bored myself most of the times. But every now and then we actually talk about important stuff and really make a difference."

"I'm glad. Did you talk to them about the ex-Dauntless like you wanted?"

"I did. I need to send each council member a copy of the files of the five ex-Dauntless who want to come back."

"You need help with that?" she asks.

"No. I've got this. But thanks anyway. Say, you haven't seen Four by any chance?" I ask.

"I did actually. He went to the cafeteria not too long ago. He should still be there" she answers.

"Oh, good. Thanks. I'll leave you now. I'm starving" I say.

"Then go eat" she says with a chuckle. We say goodbye and I hurry to the cafeteria. Half way there I remember something and turn around running after Tori. Thankfully I reach her before she walks up the stairs to the Pire.

"Tori" I shout after her and she turns around just as she started up the stairs.

"What is it?" she asks a little concerned.

"I was wondering… Four and I have a painting that needs to be framed. Any idea where we could do it?"

"I can do it. I framed the one Dwayne and I gave you for Christmas" she says smiling.

"That'll be great. Do you want me to come over to your place or do you come to ours?" I ask.

"I don't know how long it'll take me today, but I'll knock on your door when I get home or call you" she says.

"Great. See you later then. And thanks" I say turning on my heels and walking back to the cafeteria.

I walk inside and the place is packed with hungry Dauntless. I make my way to our regular table and some of the people here who happen to see me greet me nicely either with a polite "hello" or a nod. The moment I see my friends Christina stands up waving at me. It's strange that she does that, like she is signaling me where to find them. But we always sit at the same table. I smile.

"You're back?" Tobias asks surprised when I finally reach the table.

"I can leave again, if you don't want me" I say trying to keep a straight face but fail.

"You know that's not what I meant" he says getting up and kissing my lips softly.

"I know. Hi guys" I say to our group.

"Hey Tris" Will says.

"I thought you had the council meeting today" Christina says.

"I did. We're done" I say filling my plate.

"Already?" Tobias asks confused.

"Yeah. Trust me I'm more surprised than you. They usually like to hear themselves talk. Perhaps all the nagging on my part finally paid off" I say with a chuckle and the laugh.

"Well, I'm glad you are here. We have work to do" Christina says and I stop mid-bite looking at her confused. I chew and swallow quickly what I had in my mouth.

"Work? What work?" I ask confused.

"Shauna's baby shower, of course" she says, like it's the most obvious thing. I know we talked about it, but we never planned anything.

"Guys, you don't have to" Shauna says shyly.

"Shut up" Lynn says. "This is not only for you. It's for my niece too" she adds.

"Or nephew" Uriah interjects.

"Hope not" Lynn counters.

"What do you mean?" Uriah asks.

"She better be a girl."

"What's wrong with a boy?"

"He might turn out like you" Lynn teases.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asks offended.

"Guys, please" Marlene says exasperated.

Ever since our group found out that Shauna is pregnant Lynn and Uriah have this feud going on. Lynn wants a niece, while Uriah wants a nephew. I know that both would be okay either way, but they kind of keep us entertained with this little argument.

"No matter what it is we will love him or her very much" Shauna says.

"That's right. And he or she will have lots of aunts and uncles to love him or her too" I say.

"Alright. Back to business" Christina says. "Shauna, when did the doc tell you your due date is?"

"May 16th" Shauna answers.

"We still have time, but we need to start preparing. Have you guys set up a nursery?" Christina asks Zeke and Shauna.

"No. We planned on doing it soon though" Zeke says smiling proudly.

"We'll help you" Tobias offers and smiles when we lock eyes.

"Sure thing" I agree. "And how about we have the party in April. Maybe even celebrate outside."

"That'll be great" Marlene says.

"And where exactly would outside be?" Lynn asks.

"Our balcony" Tobias says.

"Why there?" Will asks.

"Last week I went to Amity and I bought this barbeque. We could grill some burgers and some hot dogs" he suggests.

"That'll be great, man" Zeke says enthusiastic.

"Stop right there" Christina says and we all look at her. "That's not how things work" she says a little annoyed.

"What do you mean?" I ask her.

"A baby shower is not a grill party. It's all about the mommy and the baby and nice gifts" she says.

"It can still be about the mommy and the baby, but we burgers and hot dogs" Uriah says.

"But boys aren't allowed to come" she continues a little whiny.

"Why not?" Zeke asks.

"Well, because…" she stutters, probably not really knowing why she objected. I know Christina is used to more girly things. But Shauna and I are a little more different.

"Chris, the baby is not just Shauna's. It's Zeke's as well. Who says a baby shower needs to be only about the mother and the baby? The father contributed too" I say.

"Yeah, but it's traditional" she defends.

"A screw traditional" Lynn says.

"I think it's a great idea" Shauna says and we look at her. "Look, Chris, I know what you want to do for me, but I agree. Zeke should be there too. All the guys should. You are all family and I want to share this with you all."

"How about we do this?" Marlene asks. "While the guys grill outside and prepare everything, we girls can stay inside and do all the girl stuff. And when the food is ready we just get together and eat."

"I think that's a great idea, babe" Uriah says kissing her cheek.

"Chris?" I ask. She thinks for a moment, probably deciding if she likes the idea or not, but when she smiles I know she's on board.

"Alright. I think you guys are right. When were we ever like other people?" she asks and we all laugh.

"Shauna, you need to write a list of all the people you want to invite" Marlene says.

"I don't need a list. All the people at this table, my parents, my brother, Zeke's mom, Lauren, Tori and Dwayne. That's all. The rest are just friends. You guys are family" she says and Zeke nods in agreement with her. All the girls at our table, including me, "awwww" at that.

We continue talking about the baby shower and decide to have it April 9th, a Saturday. While Christina tells us a story about a baby shower her mom dragged her to when she was thirteen, I finish eating my lunch only nodding every now and then to let her know that I'm still listening, although it becomes more and more difficult. I need to talk to Tobias and soon. When I'm done I excuse myself, telling them I have things to attend and thankfully Tobias follows me. We walk out of the cafeteria and he grabs my hand in his larger one, leading me to his office. We walk inside and I take a seat on the couch, while Tobias makes us a coffee. After he joins me on the couch I lean back and sigh. This is going to be difficult to say.

"What is it, love?" he asks and I look at him. He smiles and his eyes are trained on me, searching for a clue as to why I'm so uncomfortable no doubt.

"I had a conversation with Marcus" I say and he stiffens. His smile disappears and he looks at me very serious, a mixture of anger, fear, rage and concern crossing his features.

"What did he want?" he asks calmly, but I know he is anxious to know more.

"I presented my idea to the council, as we talked. They seemed a little shocked, but agreed to study the files nevertheless. After everyone left I was about to leave too when I felt him standing behind me. He accused me of wanting to destroy the city. I told him that that wasn't my intention, we became verbal, things were said and…" I pause not knowing if or how I should tell him this next part. I know it will infuriate him, but I promised to tell him the truth.

"And what Tris?" he asks, no longer calm. He is shaking and I know he must guess what I want to tell him. I grab his left hand in both of mine and rub it in an attempt to calm him. It doesn't work.

"He raised his hand to hit me, but I grabbed his wrist and managed to make my point. I told him to never raise a hand at me, because I won't stand there and take it. I will beat the living daylights out of him if he does." Tobias smirks a little before pulling me into a tight hug.

"That bastard. He wanted to hurt you. I don't care what he did to me, but if he ever lays a finger on you I'll kill him" he vows. I push myself away from him to look him in the eyes.

"Baby, don't say that. If you kill him you will be punished. Do you know what that means?" I ask concerned. He looks at me torn apart.

"I know. But I can't let him hurt you."

"He won't. This is why I'm training so hard, to make sure no one ever hurts me again and that you can sleep peacefully at night knowing that I'm capable of taking care of myself."

"You know I'll always worry about you" he says cupping my face.

"I know, baby. I worry about you too. But it worries me even more when you say things like this. If you were to kill Marcus they would take you away from me. You would be tried as a criminal and most likely executed. Promise me you won't do anything like that. Promise me you won't leave me. I know I could survive without you, but it wouldn't be a life anymore. Not one worth living. I simply don't want to live without you" I say crying now.

"I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to upset you" he says gently, wiping my tears off of my face.

"I know, but you saying things like that just get to me. I know how you feel about Marcus and I know that you could do it if he would provoke you. What that bastard doesn't understand is that you are not the obedient boy he once knew anymore. You are this powerful, confident, intimidating man that could destroy him in a blink of an eye" I say and Tobias chuckles.

"That's quite a description of someone really scary" he says and I look at him, a smile forming on my lips.

"Well, you are scary sometimes" I say. He looks at me and his smile disappears.

"Are you scared? Are you afraid of me?" he asks seriously and my heart sinks a little.

"No" I say confident and without hesitation. "I know you Tobias, you could and would never hurt me. You would die before even getting close to a situation like that. But you are scary to others. Which is a good thing, I think" I say smiling and he smiles a little too.

"Sometimes I'm scared I might turn out like him" he says and I want to say something but he puts his index finger over my lips silencing me. "I will do everything in my power to avoid that. You make me better and I want to get better. I want you to always tell me the truth, tell me if I behave inappropriate or if you are scared of me. I don't want you to be and I want our children to feel safe and protect."

"And they will be. I know it's hard for you to let others inside, but you don't have to if you don't want to. And when you decide to share your life and secrets with others know that I'll always be around when you need me. I love you, Tobias."

"I love you too, Tris" he says before kissing me passionately.

Several minutes pass before we pull apart panting and smiling at each other. He caresses my cheek and I lean into it.

"I almost forgot to tell you" I say and he looks at me curiously. "I ran into Tori and I told her about the painting" I say and he raises an eyebrow. "I didn't tell her where it came from, just that we needed it framed. She offered to do it, since she framed the one she and Dwayne gave us for Christmas."

"That's great. Should we take it over to her place later or what did you girls decide?"

"She will come over to get it or call me."

"Good" he says and kisses my cheek. "You have work to do?" he asks.

"Not anything urgent. Why?" I ask and he grins.

"Tobias?" I ask smiling brightly. "What do you want?"

"Could you bake me a cake?" he asks surprising me a bit. I thought he would say something about a quicky or leaving work early. I look at him for a moment before I burst out laughing. He laughs too, although I doubt he knows why.

"What's so funny?" he asks.

"I thought you wanted sex or something" I say still laughing.

"Well, I always want that. That's no secret" he says laughing with me.

"Alright. I'll make you some cake. Anything else?"

"Could you serve it to me naked?" he asks grinning. "And more importantly, can I eat it off of you?"

"You little pervert" I say smacking his arm lightly.

"What?" he asks innocently. "It's not the first time you served me your delicious baking goods like this. As a matter of fact, you sometimes even serve me the main dish like this."

"Tobias, stop it" I say still laughing. "I'll make you your cake, but no fooling around. Tori might come over and I don't want her to catch us like this."

"Okay, you win" he says pouting.

"Stop pouting." I kiss his lips and get off of the couch.

"Where are you going?" he asks confused.

"Home. I have to bake a cake for my man" I say walking toward the door. I turn around smiling and blow a little kiss toward him. He pretends to catch it and places his hand with my kiss over his heart. He can be so adorable sometimes.

I leave his office and head home. I get inside and the first thing I check is our painting. I pat it everywhere to check if the paint has dried. Fortunately, it did and I roll the canvas up and place it in the tube it came from. I place it on the coffee table in the living room and then go into the kitchen. I place all I need on the kitchen island and start working on the cake.

Within the next hour I'm finishing up the cake and let it cool on the counter. It's almost three p.m. and I decide to go take a shower. It takes me a little longer than usual. I wash myself thoroughly and proceed to wash my hair as well. It's clean, but I feel the need to smell nice. Half an hour later I step outside the shower and stand in front of the mirror. I look myself up and down as far as I can and I'm amazed to see so many changes. Of course, my tattoos are an important part, but I seem to be a little taller and also my breasts seem to have developed a little. I'm not that skinny Abnegation girl that chose Dauntless eight months ago. No, I'm a Dauntless woman, a leader. For the first time in my life I feel beautiful and this is mainly because of Tobias. He makes me feel beautiful and sexy and desired. The way he looks at me sends bolts of electricity to my very core and I have to admit it happens more often than not that I get my panties all wet. I chuckle to myself. I remain in the bathroom naked, letting the water drops fall to the floor. I will clean up later. I take my blow dryer and start on my hair. When I'm almost done I take the hair mousse and shape my hair the way I like it and dry the last bit of it before finally putting the dryer away. I take my cinnamon lotion and lift my foot up, resting it on the toilet seat. I squeeze the bottle a little and let a few drops of lotion fall into my palm. I rub my hands together and start massaging the rich scented lotion into my legs. I repeat this action and massage my stomach, my arms and finally my breasts. Yeah, they are bigger. I can feel it when I touch them. I can't say that it bothers me. On the contrary I finally seem to have turned into a woman. One with curves. I smile to myself.

"I like your boobs too" Tobias says startling me. I almost slip and fall backwards, but he catches me by my wrist and steadies me. "Whoa there. You might fall and hurt yourself" he says a little serious.

"You startled me" I say placing a hand over my now fast beating heart.

"I'm sorry. I came home earlier and heard you up here. I came in and watched you for a while, but you seemed so entranced by what you were doing that you didn't see me" he explains.

"Why didn't you say something?" I ask him, a little annoyed by his action.

"I wanted to, but the view was too good" he says smirking and I look down on me. I'm still naked. Now, six months ago when we started dating this would have caused me a blush. Okay, I'm still blushing. But then I would have covered myself up. But now I really don't care. He so me naked plenty of times.

"That's creepy" I say and return to look into the mirror. I grab my face cream and massage the smooth skin with it.

"Hey, you are my fiancée. I'm allowed to see you naked" he says pouting.

"No one said you aren't allowed. But you don't have to sneak up on me to get a peek. As a matter of fact, you see me naked all the time. And usually you just need to say a word and I'm naked in no time" I say with a chuckle and he laughs.

"True."

"Tobias?"

"Hmm?"

"Do these look bigger to you?" I ask cupping my breasts. He looks from my face down to my breasts and smirks.

"They are perfect" he says. I blush this time at the compliment, but remind myself that I've asked him a question.

"Tobias, I asked you something. Do they seem bigger to you?" I ask again.

"Hmm, let me see" he says and cups my boobs. He squeezes them lightly and I force myself not to moan. "They are a little bigger than in the summer when you joined" he says serious, but I can tell he is forcing himself not to grin like an idiot.

"Are you telling me you were checking out my boobs then?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"Honey, I was checking everything out. Your boobs, your perfect ass. Everything. I had to take several cold showers during that time. Worst time of my life" he says.

"Did you have any dreams?" I ask curious. I've heard that some people get these so called "wet dreams", men more often than women. I don't recall ever having one, but then again I don't remember most of my dreams.

"A few" he confesses.

"Really?" I say a little surprised.

"Some days I woke up with a hard-on, but other times I needed to change my underwear because I came in my sleep" he tells me.

"Wow. I didn't know that. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I don't know. It never came up. Thankfully, I've got you now to take care of that particular issue. Speaking of that issue" he says and presses himself against me. I can feel his hard cock through his jeans and I look up at him smiling.

"I just showered" I say unconvincingly and pull his skin tight tee shirt off of him.

"You can shower again afterwards. Actually, I think I will join you" he says and starts kissing my neck, sucking lightly on the soft flesh.

We fool around a little until he picks me up and carries me into the shower where he lets the warm stream hit our heated bodies while we love each other in every possible way.


	57. Chapter 57

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: just wanted to say thanks to all the new followers and reviews. Also, something shitty happened today. I started writting the next chapter when I accidentally saved over this one. Which means all my work was gone - cuz yeah I'm that stupid X_X - and i had to write this chapter again. I just finished it so forgive all the errors.  
> And check out my Pinterest board for this fanfic. I added a painting that should look like Tris's and Tobias's love painting.

57

The week passed quickly and soon Saturday came announcing a fun day for all of us. As discussed, the guys will meet to work out in the training room and later play some basketball, while the girls and I will enjoy a spa day.

Tobias and I sit at the kitchen island enjoying our pancakes when my phone rings. I pick it up and see that my dad is calling.

"Hi dad" I say cheerful.

"Hello sweetheart" he greets and I can hear the smile in his voice.

"What up?" I ask before shoving some more pancakes in my mouth. Tobias chuckles beside me.

"Is Tobias there?" my dad asks.

"Yeah" I say with my mouth full.

"Could you please put me on speaker. I want to tell you both something" he says and I do as I'm told. I put the phone down and wait for him to say something. "Can you both hear me?" he asks.

"Yes. Hello Andrew" Tobias says smiling.

"Hello, son. Good to hear you" he says.

"You too. How can we help you?" Tobias asks.

"I called to tell you that according to the constructors the remodeling of the park near the Navy Pier will be finished in early April" my dad informs us.

"Really?" Tobias asks. "That's great."

"Hang on. Does this mean we can have the wedding there?" I ask hopeful. Over the past few months the idea of having an outdoor wedding became very appealing for both of us.

"It appears so. I've had a little discussion with Jonah and Michael. We think it's a good idea to remodel more public areas for all the inhabitants. This would help everyone in the city to bond" my dad says.

"That'll be great, dad."

"Are they going to build something in the park for events like this one?" Tobias asks.

"We thought of that. Yes. Not just for weddings, but also for public events. If for instance someone decides to have a wedding or a private party there we can ask for a fee" my dad explains.

"That's great dad. This way we can increase the city budget and do some more rebuilding" I say excited.

"That's the plan. Beatrice, I have to thank you" he says.

"Why?" I ask confused.

"This is all because of you" he answers.

"It was Sam's idea, not mine" I correct him.

"The park yes, but the initiative is yours. If it wasn't for you we wouldn't even consider rebuilding the city. You are right. In order to progress we must take one step at a time. This will help our city more than anything we ever did in the past" he says a little proud.

"Wow, I just wanted to help make this a better place" I say bashful.

"I know, sweetheart. And as a gift your mom and I are going to pay the fee so that you two kids have your wedding there if you want that" he says.

"No, Andrew, we can't accept that" Tobias says.

"Tobias is right. It's too much" I agree.

"Nonsense" my dad says. "While you and your brother grew up in Abnegation your mother and I were never allowed to buy you kids things. Let us do this, please" he says. I look toward Tobias who smiles warmly at me. I give him a nod and he answers for both of us.

"Alright, thank you, Andrew. I'll call Natalie later to thank her as well" Tobias says a little chocked up.

"There's no need. She is right here next to me and she heard everything" my dad says.

"Hello my sweethearts" my mom greets us.

"Hi mom."

"Hi Natalie. Thank you for your gift. It's much appreciated" he says.

"Don't mention it. I can't wait to see my little girl getting married. And I've already seen the park and the plans they have for the event area. It will look gorgeous" she says.

"Well, then I can't wait either. Dad, any chance you can bring the plans to the next meeting so that I can take a peek?" I ask.

"Sure. I'll bring them on Monday. We have to go now. We are invited over at Erudite to celebrate your brother's promotion" my dad says.

"That's great. I need to give him a call" I say. "Thanks again for calling. Bye mom. Bye dad. I love you both."

"Goodbye sweetheart" my mom says. "I love you both" she says.

"Bye Natalie, bye Andrew. I love you guys too" he says smiling brightly.

"Goodbye. Love you" my dad says before hanging up.

"Let's call Caleb before you have to go" I say and dial my brother's number. It rings twice before he picks up. Since it's on speaker Tobias and I both say "Congratulations" at the same time which makes my brother laugh.

"Hey guys. Thank you both."

"Great job, Caleb" Tobias says.

"Thanks. Was hard work, but I love my job and I can't wait to see what's coming next" he says enthusiastic.

"We talked to mom and dad earlier and they said they will come over to celebrate" I say.

"Yeah. Cara invited them and her parents to have lunch with us" he says. "Sorry for not inviting you two" he says bashful.

"It's okay. We already had plans" Tobias says. "We can get together some other time."

"Yeah."

"Oh my God!" I say loud and Tobias looks at me startled.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"Is Cara pregnant? Did you knock her up? You old dog. You did. Didn't you? Didn't think you had it in you" I ramble and Tobias just looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

"WHAT? No!" Caleb shouts over the phone and I try hard not to laugh out loud. "It's nothing like that" he says.

"Explain young man" I say.

"We decided to move in together. We love each other and this is the next step for us" he says confident.

"Good for you, man" Tobias says. "Now we definitely have to get together and celebrate" he adds.

"Yeah. We can talk about the differences about living single and living with a nagging little know-it-all" he says.

"Hey" I say offended.

"I don't know about you, but I love my nagging little know-it-all" Tobias says and places and open-mouthed kiss on my cheek.

"Hey" I say again and smack his arm lightly.

"Okay guys. Gotta go. Talk to you soon. And Tobias?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you need a special leash for your nagging little know-it-all or did you manage to train her to obey orders?" Caleb asks chuckling before hanging up.

"Prick" I say.

"Don't get mad. He is just messing with you" Tobias says rubbing my back.

"You joined him" I say pouting and he laughs.

"Come on. I didn't mean it. I love you more than anything" he says serious.

"I know. I love you too" I say kissing his lips. We wrap our arms around each other and kiss for a while until a knock his heard on our door. Tobias pulls back and groans. He gets up and walks the short distance to the front door. When he opens the door I can see Tori and Dwayne standing there.

"Good morning, Tori. Dwayne" Tobias says.

"Good morning, Four" both say at the same time.

"Come in. I'm ready in a minute" Tobias says and wants to run upstairs when Tori grabs his arm. He turns around with a puzzled look on his face.

"Here is your painting" she says smiling. At the mention of the painting I get up to take a look. I take it from Tori's hands and look at it. It looks even better now than before. The simple white frame makes the colors stand out even more. I hold it up and Tobias wraps his arms around my waist. I lean against him and smile at the love-painting in front of me.

"It's beautiful. Thank you, Tori" I say looking at her. I hand the painting to Tobias and hug Tori tightly.

"Don't mention it. It's beautiful" she says.

"I'll go and put this in the bedroom and change into my work out clothes. I'll be back in a minute" Tobias says and I only nod.

"Can I offer you something to drink?" I ask our guests.

"Nothing for me. Thank you, Tris" Dwayne says.

"Coffee?" Tori asks.

"Sure. Hang on." I walk into the kitchen and pour coffee in a mug and return with it and some sugar into the living room.

"Thank you" she says taking the mug from me.

"So, Dwayne" I say and he turns his attention to me. "When are you going to spar with me?" I ask seriously.

"Never" he says just as serious.

"Chicken" I say, trying to get a reaction from him.

"Tris, stop badgering my friends" Tobias says coming down the stairs, the smile on his face betraying his amusement.

"Oh come on. They all chicken out when I ask them to spar. I get why you don't want to spar with me, but them?" I ask.

"They don't want to get in trouble with their leader."

"Hey, I'm just as much of a leader as you are. And so is Tori for that matter" I say pointing at our friend who is chuckling.

"Yeah, but she doesn't go around the compound asking people to spar with her" he says bending down and kissing my forehead. He walks into the kitchen and gets his water and then walks to the front door where he waits for Dwayne.

"Chicken" I say under my breath.

"I heard that" he says turning around to look at me with a grin on his face.

"Good. At least you know now" I say, holding back a grin.

"Whatever, woman" he says and walks out the door.

"You guys are adorable" Tori says after the guys are gone.

I excuse myself and hurry upstairs to change into some sweat pants and a loose tee shirt. When I get back downstairs Tori just puts her mug in the sink. I gather all the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, then get my phone and keys and leave the apartment with Tori to meet with the girls down in the Pit.

All of them are either waiting or arriving at the same time with us and we head together to the Dauntless spa. The first thing we do is getting a wax. Even though I got one not too long ago I decide to make sure everything is still in order. I enter a small room where Maya, the woman who waxes me ever since I've started doing it, prepares the table and everything she needs.

"I didn't expect you back so soon" she says smiling.

"The girls and I are having a spa day and we booked the full package" I tell her.

"Alright. Let's get started." It doesn't take long and she finishes what she was doing, allowing me to step outside. I put on the white cotton robe the spa hands their customers and walk outside into the waiting area. I'm surprised to see Lynn out there and sit next to her.

"So, what's up with you?" I ask her.

"I got a wax the other day" she replies.

"Good for you, but I meant what's new in your life" I insist.

"Same ol', same ol'" she says vaguely.

"Alright, I don't want to pry. But I've known you for a while now and you know we are friends. If you ever need someone to talk to my shoulder is free" I say shrugging it to emphasis my words. She smirks and nods.

We remain quiet for the remainder of the time until one by one all the girls gather in the waiting area. Our next stop – facial treatment. The employees of the spa work miracles cleaning our skin of impurities and applying rich moisturizing lotions. When that "torture" is done we move on to get massages. Since Shauna is pregnant she uses one of the massage chairs, while the rest of us is divided into two rooms. Christina, Tori and I are in one room, while Marlene, Lynn and Lauren are in the one next to us. Christina is the lucky one, getting Camy to massage her. My massage therapist, Vicky, is good too, but somehow Camy is the best.

Soon after Vicky started kneading out knots in my neck my phone rings. I ask her to hand it to me and answer it without even checking who it is.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Honey, what are you doing?" Tobias asks.

"Oh, hi babe. I'm getting a massage" I reply and moan softly when Vicky works a troubled area.

"Are you alright? You sound like you are in pain" he says.

"More like in heaven. Vic, you are amazing" I say and moan again.

"Vic? Who's Vic?" Tobias asks a little alerted, probably jealous.

"Vicky, my massage therapist. She is awesome. I had this nod in my back and she managed to get it out" I say.

"I thought I helped you" he says whispering, but I can hear the grin.

"You did. But this is another one" I say trying to keep my cool. I don't need my friends or the spa employees hear my sex talk with my fiancé. Before he can reply anything Christina moans loudly and everyone stops what she's doing to look over to her.

"What was that?" Tobias asks curious.

"Yeah, what was that?" I can hear Uriah in the back.

"Uhm, that was Christina. Either Camy worked out a really persistent knot or Chris just had a very loud orgasm" I say with a chuckle.

"Hey" Christina shouts.

"Does Will know you can be this loud? I bet you aren't this loud with him" I say teasing her and the guys laugh.

"Shut up" she yells.

"Hey, it's not me who moans so loud during a massage. Hey Camy, maybe you should teach Will a few moves" I continue teasing.

"Oh yeah" Christina says lifting her upper body off the table exposing her breasts to us. "Maybe she should teach Four a few of these moves" Chris bites back.

"From what I hear he doesn't need any more moves" Tori says and bursts out laughing.

"Hey" I say, forgetting completely that my phone is still on and the guys can hear our conversation.

"Ladies, please" Vicky says amused. "There are ways to sort these things out" she adds.

"Like? You gonna call the guys and make them massage us?" Christina asks sarcastically.

"I wouldn't mind" Tori says. "Dwayne knows how to rub my back."

"And I bet a few other things as well" Christina says grinning and we all start laughing.

"No, no, no. Nothing like that" Vicky says. "We have a mud treatment area. We can use it and you girls can have a mud fight."

"Now wouldn't that be a turn on for the guys" Camy says and we laugh.

"How about they fight and we watch?" I ask.

"Works for me" Tori says. We calm down after that and the massage therapists continue working on us.

"Tris? You still there?" I hear Tobias's voice and realize my phone is still open and the guys probably heard everything. I blush crimson and hang up. The girls look at me, not understanding what just happened.

"My phone was on and the guys probably heard everything" I say. At first they look at me shocked and bashful but then we burst out laughing. I realize I've just hung up on my fiancé but I'm so embarrassed right now that I need to calm myself before calling him back.

We finish our massages and head out to get ready for the sauna. I decide to call Tobias back, while Tori and Christina fill the girls in. I dial his number and wait for him to pick up. I hope he isn't too upset with me.

"Are you in the mud already?" he asks with a chuckle.

"What?" I ask and blush.

"Last time I heard you girls were going to fight in the mud" he says and laughs lightly.

"Oh my God, I'm so embarrassed" I say.

"Don't be honey. It was really amusing" he says still laughing.

"Stop laughing. It's not funny" I say frustrated but this only makes him laugh harder.

"Come on, babe. It's funny. But all right, I'll stop laughing" he says holding back another laugh.

"Did you want something from me when you called?" I ask him.

"Yeah, I wanted to know if you girls come to the cafeteria to eat lunch with us" he says a little hopeful.

"You miss me already" I tease.

"I always miss you, babe" he says lovingly.

"Aw, aren't you the sweetest" I say. "But no, honey. The girls and I will have a light lunch after our sauna appointment. But you boys go and eat some hearty meal for us as well" I say with a chuckle.

"Alright. See you later then" he says. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"And by the way, I don't mind when you get all dirty" he says and hangs up before I can reply. That sneaky little bastard. I laugh to myself and return to my friends.

"Sauna?" I ask.

"Yeah. Let's go. I can't wait to sweat it all out" Shauna says.

We all enter the sauna and the girls start taking off their robes. I usually keep a towel around my frame, since I'm still a little shy even around my friends. But this time I forgot it and I keep my robe on instead.

"What are you doing?" Christina asks.

"Sitting" I say.

"I can see that. With the robe on?" she inquires further.

"I forgot my towel" I say.

"Oh for God's sake, Stiff. Take that damn thing off" Lynn says and pulls it down exposing my upper body.

"Lynn" I yell at her.

"You are in a sauna and we are your friends. Don't tell me that after all these months you are still shy and embarrassed" Lynn says firmly.

"Leave her alone, Lynn" Marlene says taking my side, like so often before.

"Why? It's just us. It's not like we haven't seen her naked before. Besides Tris you have a gorgeous body. You look hot" Christina assures me.

"Candor is right" Lynn says. "Take it off." I look around and realize that I'm not really Dauntless if I keep the robe on. But it's not specifically because I feel ashamed of my body. I came to accept it the way it is, especially when Tobias looks at me like I'm the most wonderful being in the world. He always makes me feel beautiful and sexy. Besides these are my friends. But what I don't want them to see is my intimate tattoo. That one is only for Tobias's eyes only. I get up and maneuver the robe in a manner to avoid them seeing my tattoo. I sit back down with the robe over my lap covering my womanhood.

"See? Wasn't that hard" Christina says grinning.

"No, it wasn't" I say with a small smile.

"One more thing" Lynn says and before I can do anything to avoid it she snatches the robe out of my hands and off of my lap exposing my most intimate part. At first they laugh at my startled reaction, but then Lynn sees it and everyone else's attention is directed toward where her gaze lies.

"Is that a tattoo on your pussy?" Shauna asks bluntly.

"Uhm…" is all I can come up with.

"It is" Christina says staring. I feel the need to cover myself and I place my hands over it.

"Stop staring" I say.

"Oh my God! Did you really get a tattoo there?" Christina asks disbelievingly, as if she couldn't trust her own eyes.

"Yeah" I answer.

"Let me see it" Lynn says and tries to move my hands but I keep them stubbornly where they are.

"Okay, alright girls. Tris doesn't want you to see it. So stop" Tori says sternly.

"But I really want to see it" Christina whines.

"Stop it. You are not a little child. It's intimate and it wasn't meant for anyone to see it" she says giving me a knowing look.

"Bull shit" Lynn says. "It's for him. Four" she says and again everyone looks at me. By now I'm red as a tomato and I'm only able to nod.

"Okay, guys, stop it. You see she is uncomfortable. What if it were you?" Marlene says and smiles at me.

"Alright, alright" Lynn says defeated. She bends down and grabs my robe putting back over my lap.

"Is it really for Four?" Christina asks.

"Yes" I say confident. "It was a Christmas gift."

"That's so sweet" Marlene says. "But if you don't mind me asking, why there? I mean why not over your heart?" she asks.

"He is already over my heart" I say pointing toward his raven. "But this means that only he will ever see me like this, bare. No other man" I say and they all "aw" in unison.

"That's adorable" Shauna says.

We continue talking, the girls dropping the tattoo topic and we talk about the wedding, about Shauna's baby shower and some other things that need to happen.

We decide that sometime in April we will help Zeke and Shauna get the nursery ready, the girls offered to help me pick out my wedding gown, which translated means they will drag me through yet another endless shopping trip and we decide to just hang out more often before Shauna's baby comes.

After we leave the sauna we eat a salad and then head to the beauty parlor within the spa. We get our nails and hair done and by five p.m. we all look fresh and relaxed and just utterly happy. We all go to our respective homes to get changed to meet the boys in the cafeteria.

When I get home I call Tobias but when I get no answer I realize he isn't home yet. I go upstairs and change into some jeans and a skin tight tee shirt and return back downstairs. Just then Tobias enters the apartment looking breathtaking even though he is covered in sweat and is all dirty from working out and playing ball all day.

"Hi there, big guy" I say with a smile.

"Babe, you look gorgeous" he says with a wide grin. He bends forward to kiss my lips, making sure not to touch me. When he pulls back he groans.

"What is it?" I ask confused.

"I want to wrap you in my arms" he says.

"Go shower first and I'll be down here when you come back. Hurry, 'cause I really want to hug you too. I've missed you today." Before I can say another word he sprints up the stairs, taking two at a time. I hear the shower which means he left the door open and probably got undressed on his way there. I decide to go after him to collect his dirty clothes to put them in the laundry basket to wash them later.

Tobias is out of the shower in five minutes all fresh and clean and smelling amazingly good. So good that I feel my panties getting wet. All of a sudden I regret promising my friends we would go out for bowling, but we need to spend some time with them too. He quickly dresses putting on some black jeans and a black tee shirt and his favorite boots. We both grab our keys and phones and head downstairs to the cafeteria where we meet with our friends and enjoy a wonderful traditional Dauntless meal, before we go to the bowling alley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I want to ask you guys something. I haven't decided yet what Zeke and Shauna should have. A boy or a girl? What do you think?
> 
> Also, what names? I'm interested in both genders.
> 
> How did you like this chapter, especially the interactions between the girls and the phone call?
> 
> I also posted another chapter in my other fanfic Moments we share - Chickenpox. check that one out too.


	58. Chapter 58

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi everyone. Today's chapter is a little shorter, sorry for that. But yesterday I've posted another Tie-in called Moaning and other things Check it out as well. It's the phone conversation from Tobias's POV.

58

I'm waiting patiently for everyone to arrive in the conference room of the Hub. It has been a week since I presented my proposal to the council regarding the ex-Dauntless. They had the whole week to study the files I've sent them and make up their minds.

One by one every member of the council enters the room, sitting down in their usual spot. By the time everyone is seated I look around to see if I can make out based on their facial expression if they will accept or deny my proposal.

Unfortunately, they all keep straight faces. Almost all of them. There is one who smirks at me, like he already knows my proposal will be rejected. Marcus. I glare at him but soon turn my attention to Jack who asked me a question.

"Come again?" I ask. He chuckles.

"I said, are you nervous?" he repeats.

"A little bit. I really want this to work out. The way this people were forced to leave the faction was unfair. It's not like they didn't fit in, they were bullied out."

"I know what you mean" he says giving me a small smile.

"May I ask how you will vote?"

"Can't you guess?" he asks grinning. I let out a sigh and I hear Jonah clear his throat, indicating that we will start now.

"Good morning" he says and some reply. "Before we start our regular meeting I have to remind you that last week council member Tris Prior presented a proposal. All of us have received the necessary documentation to study and evaluate this matter" he says and many of them nod their heads. "After studying the files I hope you came to a decision. Let us vote if the five ex-Dauntless members are allowed to return to their faction." The vote is anonymous, therefore we all right down a "yes" or "no" or even "undecided" on a piece of paper. Every piece is put in a glass bowl and after the last person lets his vote fall on the pile Jonah and Michael start sorting them out. It doesn't take them long but for me it seems like forever. The fact that Marcus Eaton keeps smirking at me like he already won, although I don't know what he would gain by this, makes me feel uneasy.

"We have sorted your votes" Michael starts saying and every pair of eyes is trained on him. "We have five that are undecided, ten who voted no and fifteen who voted yes. This means the council accepts council member Tris Prior's proposal. Congratulations" he says and smiles warmly at me. I spare a glance toward Marcus and I can see disbelief and anger flashing his face, but he keeps his cool. I fight back the triumphant grin and turn my attention back to Jonah who started talking about something else.

For the next three hours we discuss the remodeling project of the Navy Pier. The fact that the park near the pier received such high praises from all the citizens encouraged us to do more in the city, especially the non-faction areas.

By 12.30 p.m. we leave the conference room and I offer to drive my dad and Jack back to their homes. Now that I'm finally in my car I can smile and be happy that they accepted my idea. This is more than just a small victory, this is a precedent. Showing the council that there are alternatives to make our lives better is more effective than any speech. Someone once said actions are louder than words. I understand now what that means.

"You seem happy" Jack says from the backseat.

"Looks can be deceiving" I say but my smile widens.

"I hope you know what you are doing" my dad says and I look at him.

"I hope so too. But it's the right thing to do. I'm sure of it" I say confident. "You guys hungry? Wanna come over for lunch?" I ask them.

"Thank you, sweetheart, but your mother waits for me. Maybe some other time" my dad says smiling.

"Alright. What about you Jack?" I ask looking in the rear view mirror.

"Nope. Vanessa is waiting for me. She has some surprise. Maybe she made that lasagna I like so much" he says looking out the window.

"Yeah, maybe" I say. I drop off Jack first and then drive to Abnegation where I get out for a moment to greet my mom.

"Hey, mom" I say entering the kitchen to give her a hug.

"Beatrice" she says surprised. "I wasn't expecting you. Are you staying for lunch?" she asks smiling.

"No. Tobias waits for me. Maybe some other time. I just came in to say hi and see how you are doing."

"I'm fine. How are you?" she asks me.

"I'm good. Lots of work and headaches, but I'm good all in all."

"And Tobias?" she asks.

"He's good too. He frowns a lot during work, but other than that he's fine" I say and we both laugh.

"I'm glad. I miss you two. How about you and Tobias come next weekend over for lunch?" she asks.

"I'll talk to Tobias and if we don't have anything planned sure."

"That'll be wonderful" she says and hugs me.

"I got to go, mom. I'll talk to you. Bye."

"Goodbye, sweetheart."

I leave my parents house and walk to the car. I open my door only for it to be closed forcefully by someone else. I turn around and see a furious Marcus towering over me. I stand my ground and try to put a "Four" mask on.

"What do you want, Marcus?" I ask.

"You little bitch are not going to destroy this city" he growls.

"I'm not destroying anything. And get out of my face. I'm not afraid of you" I say trying to keep my cool. I push him away from me, but he steps forward again.

"I will not allow you to…" he starts saying and I interrupt him.

"To do what? Help the city? Make it a better place?" I ask angry.

"You think you are doing the city a favor. You are mistaken. This city lacks discipline and order" he says and comes even closer.

"What's with you and discipline? Maybe you need to be disciplined" I say.

"You insolent little…" he starts saying raising his hand to hit me, but this time I'm not the one who interrupts him.

"Don't you dare raise a hand at her" I hear Evelyn. Marcus and I both look at her in surprise. I'm surprised to see her here, since she hates the faction and Marcus probably thought he would never see his ex-wife ever again.

"Evelyn?" Marcus asks in disbelief.

"Yes. The one and only" she says. "Now get away from my future daughter-in-law or I'll shoot you" she says and points a gun at him. He remains in his spot watching her and trying to figure out what is going on.

"You have no business here" he growls.

"Really? Says who? You?" she antagonizes him.

"There's no place for you here" he shouts at her.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to stay. I only came for her. I knew she was in danger with you lurking around and Tobias would never forgive me if I wouldn't help his fiancée escape your so called discipline" she says. "Now, back away from her and go home. If you ever come near her again I will shoot you between the eyes."

"You wouldn't dare. I'm your husband" he says taking a step toward her.

"You are nothing to me, except a long nightmare. Now back off and go home" she repeats glaring at him and raising the gun to his head.

Marcus must understand that this woman is no longer his obedient, silent wife that took beatings every day. She is strong and confident and not someone you want to mess with. I smile a little. Marcus finally backs off and leaves us, but not before turning to look at me and shooting me a piercing glare. I fight the urge to shudder and turn away from him. When he is finally gone I approach her.

"Thanks, but I could have handled it" I say, but smile.

"I know. But I wanted to see his stupid face when I appeared and held a gun at him. And believe it or not, over these past few months I started caring for you. You are a good person and what you do for the factionless is admirable. I couldn't see it before, but my son picked a good woman" she says and I blush.

"Woman? What happened to skinny, undeveloped schoolgirl?" I ask her and she laughs.

"She grew up into this beautiful young woman who I am proud to call my daughter-in-law very soon" she says smiling at me.

"Wow, I never thought I would hear you say something like that" I say honestly.

"I've changed my mind. You changed it. Thanks to you I have a relationship with my son. Before he met you we only spoke a few times in two years. Now we see each other on a regular basis and that's all thanks to you. I know I can be difficult and that I made mistakes, but I love my son and I want what is best for him. And I believe that is you" she says and I feel like crying.

"Thank you for saying that. I really started caring for you too" I tell her. "Wanna come with me home? Have some lunch? I'm sure Tobias would be happy to see you" I offer.

"If it's not too much trouble."

"None at all."

We get in the car and I drive us back to the compound. We only talk when necessary, trying to let what happened earlier sink in. I'm tempted to ask her not to say anything to Tobias about his father, but the promise I made him shouts out loud in my head. I park the car and we walk to his office. I knock on the door and wait for him to invite us in. When I open the door he looks up from his computer and smiles at me.

"Hey, love. You are back" he says getting up and walking toward me.

"Yeah. And look who I brought with me" I say and step aside to allow Evelyn to come in.

"Evelyn? What are you doing here?" he asks but smiles when he sees her.

"I ran into Beatrice and she invited me over for lunch. I hope that is okay with you" she says apprehensive.

"Of course it is" he says. "Let me finish up here and we can go home."

"How about you finish here and Evelyn and I go up to the apartment. I'll start cooking in the meantime. Unless, you guys want to spend some time alone" I say looking between mother and son.

"No, it's alright" she says. "I'll help you" she offers.

"Thanks. Alright. Let's go then" I lean up and Tobias kisses me. We leave his office and walk up the stairs to my apartment. I open the door and allow Evelyn to enter first. I pull of my jacket and get hers as well taking them to the closet under the stairs.

I walk into the kitchen and prepare everything for some pasta Carbonara, because it's easily made and just enough for lunch. I made a cake yesterday so we have some for dessert. It's surprising how well Evelyn and I get along lately. We chat about little things in the kitchen until the subject of Marcus comes along.

"Thanks again" I say and she looks at me confused. "For what you did in Abnegation."

"Don't worry. I wasn't lying. I care for you, not just because of Tobias, but you grew on me" she says smiling.

"You kinda grew on me too" I say and we start laughing. Just then Tobias walks in.

"Now that's a sight for sore eyes" he says.

"Welcome home, honey" I say. He walks into the kitchen and kisses me.

"Can I help the ladies with anything?" he asks.

"No" Evelyn answers. "The table is set and the meal is almost done."

"Alright. So, how was your meeting with the council?" Tobias asks me.

"Good actually" I say.

"Did they accept your proposal?" Evelyn asks. I forgot to tell her.

"Yeah, sorry. I forgot to tell you. Surprisingly they accepted. Not all of them, but I had the majority of votes in my favor. So the five ex-Dauntless will be allowed back. Is it okay if I come tomorrow to see them and discuss the terms of their return?" I ask her.

"Sure. I'll set everything up. When would you like to come?" she asks.

"I don't know. In the morning, after nine a.m." I say.

"How about after lunch?" Tobias asks and we look both at him.

"Why?" I ask him.

"What do you mean? I want to come with you" he says smiling a crooked smile.

"Really?" I ask a little excited.

"Well yeah. I thought about it. It will show that all the leaders are behind this and that it's not just something temporary, but we really want to make things right. Also, I'm proud of you and I want to be there for you" he says.

"And you want to make sure that I'm safe" I say smirking.

"That too. Come on, I'm starving. Feed me" he says and tickles me. I smack his arm and he runs into the dining room. Evelyn and I bring in the food and beverages. We both sit on each side of Tobias filling our plates and chatting about our day. We deliberately let Tobias tell us about some interesting thing that happened in the control room with one of the employees there laughing every once in a while.

After we finish our pasta Tobias gathers our plates and puts them in the dishwasher. He then walks to the fridge to get the cake. I grin at the sight. He is such a sweet tooth. After he places the cake between us he cuts it and offers a slice of it to his mother, since she is our guest, then cuts one for me and last but not least for himself. He sits back down and indulges in the sweet chocolate dessert.

"So how was your day?" he asks his mom.

"Nothing special. I checked a few areas that were troublesome and then I went to Abnegation" she says and Tobias's head snaps in her direction.

"Abnegation?" he asks almost chocking on the piece of cake he had in his mouth.

"Yeah. I wanted to check something in the area and saw your car driving by. I thought maybe you or Beatrice were there. I walked through the streets until I came closer to the Prior house. I saw the car and Beatrice arguing with your father" she says. At the mention of Marcus he turns to look at me checking for some kind of injuries.

"Did he hurt you?" he asks serious.

"No. He was just his usual asshole self" I say. "Your mom however was awesome."

"Why?" he asks confused looking from me to her and then back to me again.

"She pulled a gun at him and told him if he ever comes near me again she will shoot him between the eyes" I say with a chuckle and Evelyn smirks.

"You threatened him with a gun? Why? What did he do?" he asks and looks again between me and his mother.

"I told you he was trying to intimidate me, but it didn't work. I could easily take him, but he is a council member just like I am. The key to defeat him isn't with fists, but with his own weapons" I say.

"I disagree" Evelyn says "but please explain."

"He doesn't want people to know what a massive asshole he is and hides between laws and regulations to obtain whatever he wants. But not with me. He expects me to be Dauntless, meaning solving my problems with fists and kicks. The fact that I use the law to my advantage throws him off of his game and he doesn't know how to deal with that. Also, the fact that I made enough allies within the council frightens him. I could see it today. He was so sure that my motion will be denied, but guess what? It wasn't. The council accepted my reintegration proposal and opened up a whole new area to explore."

"You need to be careful, honey. I don't want you to get hurt" Tobias says.

"Don't worry. I will be."

We finish eating our cake and chat about our arrival tomorrow in the factionless sector. I can't wait to tell those people they can come home.


	59. Chapter 59

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm sorry this is a shorter chapter than usual. The next few might be the same. I have a lot of work to do and i figured better shorter than none.
> 
> Also, check out Moaning and other things, a You and me against the world Tie-in for chapter 57.

59

Tobias and I are on the train on our way to the factionless sector. It is past one p.m. and we are scheduled to meet with the five ex-Dauntless at 1.30 p.m. First we will meet with Evelyn, discussing their return and maybe a few personal things as well.

When we near the drop spot we prepare ourselves to jump. Tobias jumps first and I follow him closely. By now I'm as familiar to the path inside the factionless as Tobias is. It doesn't take us more than ten minutes and we are greeted by Evelyn. Everyone here knows who we are and even though most of them keep their distance, they at least stopped looking at us like we are a threat. We follow Evelyn inside her house where she serves us tea and sits down to talk to us.

"I've send word to the five to come meet us here. They should arrive soon" she says smiling.

"Good. Thank you" I say.

"No problem. Have you revised any other cases" she asks.

"We have" Tobias says.

"And?"

"So far no new offers. We still have to investigate before opening our door to them" he says.

"Alright. But enough about business. Let's talk wedding" she says smiling.

"I never thought I would sit with you at a table talking about my wedding" Tobias says with a chuckle.

"Does it bother you?" she asks.

"No, but after you left I never imagined this" he says looking at me and then back at her. "I never thought I would ever speak to you again. I never thought I would get married and that my mother would be there to see me" he says with a warm smile.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world" she says and puts her hand over his. "So, wedding. You have a location yet? I suppose it will be in Dauntless" she says but I shake my head no.

"We decided that the park near the Navy Pier would be the best location" Tobias says.

"Really? I saw that the city started working there, but I didn't think it would be for this reason" she says surprised.

"Well, not exactly. The city council decided to restore some places in the city that are available to all the citizens. The park being only the beginning of this vast project. The park is public property, meaning everyone can go there and enjoy it. But the council thought of a way to earn some money for the city budget to do some more around town" I start saying.

"There will be an area dedicated to either public events like concerts and such or private parties like a wedding" Tobias continues.

"Huh, always about the money" Evelyn says sarcastically. "Let me guess, Marcus suggested it."

"Actually, no. Samantha, from Erudite, suggested that the park should be restored and the council thought it would be a good idea to create this celebration area that can be rented. The money we make from the rentals can be used to do more around the city. Our next project is the Navy Pier itself. Once we restore that we create a fun place to go outside a faction. All the attractions there will have a fee that will allow us to keep the place running" I tell her.

"Great, more places for the faction members to have fun" she says a little bitter.

"You don't understand. It's not just about the fun part, it will also create jobs" I say enthusiastically.

"Yeah, for the faction members" she says scoffing. God, she's dumb sometimes.

"Mom, you still don't get it. The jobs would be for the factionless" Tobias says and we both look at him shocked. He looks at us not understanding why we are staring.

"What did you say?" Evelyn asks in disbelief and I to be quite frank think that I've misheard him.

"I said the factionless would get jobs" he says.

"No. The other part before that" she says. It seems to dawn on Tobias and he just says "Oh." "You just called me Mom" she says smiling but with tears in her eyes.

"I guess I did" he says scratching the back of his neck and smiles shyly.

"Did you mean it or was it just a slip" she asks hopeful, but still afraid.

"I meant it, mom" he says, repeating the word she yearned to hear from him for so long. She gets up and walks to where he sits, tears streaming down her face. She bends down and embraces him as best as she can. He stands up as well and hugs her back and I can see he is choked up. This is a big moment for both of them. I feel like I'm intruding so I stand up as well and walk to the door.

"Don't go" Evelyn says.

"You two need some alone time" I say smiling at mother and son.

"We do, but you are part of my family too" she says and comes to me. She hugs me tightly, almost cutting off my air supply. "You made this possible, Beatrice. I will never forget it and I will never stop thanking you for it" she says. I wrap my arms around her and rub my hands up and down my back like I do when I hold Tobias and he is especially emotional.

"This wasn't me, Evelyn. This was you two. You both wanted this and you both worked hard. I thank you for allowing me to show you that I'm not a threat to you and that all I want is for Tobias to be happy and have at least one parent in his life. I still can't forgive you for the past, but that was a long time ago. Now, in the present, you showed us both over and over again that you really mean it. And we both want you to be part of our future and the future of our children" I say and she pulls away looking at me, before dropping her gaze further south.

"Are you trying to tell me that I'm going to be a grandmother?" she asks and almost smiles, if the shock of such news wouldn't be overwhelming.

"Uh, no. I'm just saying that it will happen in the future" I say. "Come on, I'll let you two alone for now."

"No. How about you come with us back to the compound after we wrap things up here?" Tobias asks. "I could cook us dinner" he says. "And we still have Tris's special cake, right honey?"

"Actually, you ate the last bit this morning" I say.

"What? No more cake" he whines and Evelyn and I chuckle.

"I'll bake a new one. But you go shopping. I'm tired of having to explain the grocery store lady that I have to bake yet another cake, because my fiancé can't get enough. Did you know that she actually asked me if I was pregnant and was craving chocolate cake?" I ask and he laughs.

"I remember I craved a lot of sweets when I was pregnant with you, Tobias. Back then Marcus was different. He brought me candy as much as I could eat, not caring if it wasn't very Abnegation" Evelyn reminiscence.

"Stop laughing" I tell Tobias, when he still laughs. "That's not funny. She actually told other people that she suspects that you got me knocked up and that's why we get married so soon" I say a little angry. He comes over to me and pulls me into his arms rubbing my back.

"I'm sorry, love. But what does it matter what people think. Even if I would have knocked you up, I would have married you nevertheless. And to be honest, I can't wait to have a little girl running around the house" he says.

"Aw, how sweet. You want a girl" Evelyn says. "What do you want, Tris?"

"Some more time before I have either" I say.

"I know what you mean. I was terrified when I found out I was pregnant. But once the initial shock was gone I could barely wait for my little angel to be born" she says and reaches out to caress Tobias's cheek who is still holding me. "We lost so much time because of me. You can't even imagine how sorry I am" she says and a tear rolls down her cheek. Tobias unwraps his right arm from around me and pulls Evelyn in an embrace along with me. The three of us stay there in the middle of her kitchen and hug each other.

"The important thing is you are sorry and that you are willing to make things right. You know what? From now on we only look forward, okay mom?" he asks and she looks up to him smiling.

"Alright, sweetheart."

After that we let go of each other and sit back down. The five ex-Dauntless are bound to be here soon. We sit back down at the table and after a short moment of silence Evelyn speaks up again.

"Beatrice, I don't understand one thing. You said there will be jobs for the factionless. How? Where?"

"The public places" I say smiling.

"I still don't understand."

"Well, think about it. Each member of a faction has a job within the faction, right?" I ask and she nods. "The public places don't belong to any particular faction and the jobs won't be as well paid as the ones offered by a faction. Therefore, no one within a faction will want such a job. I know it's not much but it would give your people a sense of use and independency. I have talked about this with the council for hours. Scratch that, days. I explained to them that the factionless are in pure numbers as many as any of the five factions. Of course, I tried to talk to bureaucrats about the humane thing to do here and of course Marcus being his usual pain-in-my-ass-self objected and slapped his hand on the table and yelled, but when I mentioned the increase in the city budget the rest started listening. Economically speaking, allowing the factionless to have jobs would be far better than not. For instance, if 100 factionless would get jobs they could afford to buy certain things, like food and clothing. That would mean that at least for 100 people the city wouldn't have to pay for at least the food, since the clothes come anyway. I also discussed with the other faction leaders to organize a faction market, which would basically be something like a gathering where people from different factions who manufacture certain things can sell their stuff to anyone who wants to buy, regardless of their faction. Now, these things already exist, but on a much smaller scale. Usually only leaders or high-ups in a faction can afford to buy things from other factions. Take us for example. Recently Tobias bought a barbecue grill from Amity, thanks to Johanna. I admit not anyone can buy one, not because it would be too expensive, but you need an open space where you cook your food. But there are other things – paintings, quilts, maybe even books. This would be a great opportunity for members of different factions to mingle with each other and learn more. I told you Evelyn we can only change this city for the better in time. We need to build the future not conquer it. If we do the latter we risk it not standing on solid ground" I say and she smiles.

"I know, I've started to see your point of view a while ago. If it wouldn't have been for you trying to help my people I would have looked for another way to get it done" she says.

"Thank you for being honest" I say.

Before we can continue our conversation a knock on the door announces the arrival of the five people who's lives are about to change. Again.

"Please, come in" Evelyn tells them and Tobias allows them to sit down. I get up as well and Tobias brings in another chair from the dining room.

"Now that we are all here let's get down to business" I say. "As you know we have spoken several times over these past weeks about you returning to Dauntless. All five of you have told me that you would consider it. Have you?" I ask and wait for them to answer.

"I have" a tall red-haired woman says. She is one of the divergent. "I want to go home."

"What is your name?" Tobias asks.

"Sophia Dalton" she answers. Tobias writes down her name on a notebook he brought.

"How old are you?" he asks.

"I'm 22." Tobias writes that down as well.

"Were you Dauntless or a transfer?"

"Dauntless born and when the time came I chose Dauntless."

"Why did you leave?"

"I'm divergent. I feared that they might kill me."

"Do you understand that if and when you return to Dauntless you will have to live under our rules?"

"Yes."

"Do you know who I am?"

"You are Four. One of the three Dauntless leaders. And Evelyn's son" she adds.

"And she?" he asks pointing at me.

"Tris. She is another Dauntless leader and a council member."

"Good, thank you" Tobias says taking notes the entire time.

We continue this with all five of them. All of them want to come back and I have to say I'm really glad.

"I am glad to inform you that the council accepted my proposal to reintegrate you within the Dauntless population. You will be soon expected to return to the compound" I tell them. They look at us smiling and even with tears in their eyes.

"Thank you, thank you so much" Brian, one of the three men says. He then looks at Evelyn and adds "we are truly grateful for what you did for us, Evelyn. But we all want home. Dauntless was always our home."

"Don't worry. All I ever wanted was for us, the citizens, to have the right to chose our own path. If this is yours then I'm okay with it" she says.

"There are a few conditions, though" Tobias says. "When you return we will put you under truth serum. It is a precaution and besides everyone in the compound was submitted to one a few months back. Also, in the compound Tris, Tori Wu and myself are leader. You can come to us if there are problems with any Dauntless, but you need to respect us and follow our rules. As far as jobs and living arrangements go Tris and I are still looking into that. But unlike before we changed a few things. For instance, all of you had jobs when you left the compound. I don't know if there are any available in your field. But even if you would get a fence guarding job there is now the possibility to apply for another job. You will be given a detailed brochure about the changes. Any questions?"

We spend another hour discussing their return before they leave and Evelyn gets her things to come back with us to Dauntless. We leave the factionless sector and walk to the tracks and wait for the train to drive by, taking us home. I'm so glad Evelyn and Tobias made this huge step forward in their relationship. This is a good thing for both of them. He deserves at least one parent that loves him and supports him and for the past months this is what Evelyn was. I had my doubts in the beginning, but after spending so much time with her I can see that she is honest. And if I ever have a suspicion that she lies I can always tap into her memories and thoughts and check it out. But not without Tobias's knowledge. Even if he chooses to stay out I will tell him. I don't want anything to jeopardize our relationship.

"Tris?" Tobias asks and I turn to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"I was just thinking to have a lunch with your parents and my mom this Sunday. I know you and the girls had some plans on Saturday, so Sunday might be best" he says.

"Sure. I'll call them when we get home" I say.

"That okay with you too, mom" he asks and both light up whenever he calls her that.

"Of course, honey" she says smiling.

The train soon arrives and we start running. We hop on easily and even Evelyn has no difficulty to jump on. If she would wear black clothes only no one would ever think she is anything but Dauntless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: How about that? Evelyn got promoted to mom.


	60. Chapter 60

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: You can find pictures for this chapter on my Pinterest board dedicated to this fic.

60

May 30th. I'm getting dressed in my bedroom while Tobias prepares the last minute stuff. Any minute my guest will arrive for my birthday party. I've invited my parents, my friends, a few council members, Samantha and her husband, Jack and his girlfriend, Vanessa, Johanna, Caleb and Cara and of course my soon to be mother-in-law.

It was a hectic and yet rewarding time since the first five ex-Dauntless returned to the compound. Since then we received back another fifteen ex-members. Thanks to Evelyn's help the transition went smoothly and we barely experienced any problems with the new old-members. The council even considered that other faction should do something similar. It was only suggested if the factions would want that, but I think at least Amity considers this a real possibility.

As for the city – we finished the park near the Navy Pier and considering that more factionless workers offer to work minimum wage jobs on the new construction sites we estimate that the Navy Pier will be finished sometime around mid-August. Tobias and I have already talked to the council and until we find a new place for Capture the Flag we will be using the Pier this year as well. We will notify the council in time for when we need it and then organize that the workers get two days off. One for us to prepare the site and one to clean up after ourselves. Thanks to this initiative the council looks into several more public areas to restore and give our city its former glory back, whatever that means.

Two weeks ago Shauna gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, who she and Zeke named Hunter. They asked Tobias and me to be his godparents and we both accepted happily. Little Hunter soon became the center of everyone's attention and even the guys started talking more and more about babies. I think they even talk more about babies and what they need then we girls do. The other night Tobias actually told me that it's very important that a newborn is placed on the mother's bare chest to calm the infant down after the trauma of being born. The skin to skin contact with the mother is imperative to create an instant connection even in the outside world. I remember that I looked at him both shocked and amused. He was so confused when I started laughing that he started pouting after a while. When I told him that he probably knows more about babies than I do he realized I might be right. He told me that the nearer Shauna's due date was the more the guys talked about these things. He told me that each one of them is terrified to be a parent and I told him that it was just the same for us girls. It only looks more natural when it comes to us, because we aren't pussies when it comes to actually be a parent. At that he frowned and thought he had to show me how he so is not a pussy, but a real hunk. I have to say, if I'd known that calling him a pussy would get me such great sex I would have done this months ago. Thankfully, I can always use it in the future.

When Shauna went into labor Zeke called us and we all rushed to the hospital. She had to wait for almost an entire day before she could be delivered of the baby. Tobias and I entered her room and saw her holding her newborn baby boy and Zeke sitting next to them on the chair looking in awe at the little being they both created. We couldn't stay for long, since others wanted to see the newest addition to the Pedrad family and to our faction. However, we wouldn't leave before holding the little guy a little. Well, I held him, Tobias chickened out. But since then he held the little guy a few times and little Hunter just loves his scary uncle Four. I think he is the only Dauntless that doesn't shit his pants, which says something for a baby, when Tobias walks into a room.

Since February Tobias and I invited my parents and Evelyn almost on a regular basis to have lunch with us either on Saturdays or Sundays. They all get along really well, even though most of the times Evelyn and my dad have the occasional argument on how the city should be run. I always try to calm the waters, while my mom and Tobias just sit back, relax and drink their tea. It annoys me sometimes that I have to be the referee between these two leaders. But they are family and I love them both.

After Hunter was born Tobias brought up kids at random times, always hinting we should have some soon. I know that if he would look at it logically he would see how this so isn't the time for any. But to be honest since the little guy came into our lives we all have changed. Seeing such a miracle makes you wonder why else we are here if not repopulate this world. If we are the last people in the world, shouldn't we just do the best we can and grow in numbers? I know. Stupid. That's not a reason to become a parent and I know that despite the obvious love Shauna and Zeke feel for their baby boy they still have a tough time. They barely have time for themselves, I almost never see Shauna without the baby, which I don't mind, but one can tell that she is exhausted. Among our friends we offered to babysit as often as we could. Most of the times we just hang out at Zeke's and Shauna's place and watch over little Hunter while his parents sleep. When he will get older we will take him for longer at our places so that they can actually relax and maybe do some other things. But for now napping is all the new parents want.

I finish with my hair and climb downstairs. It's still early but mom and dad said they would be here at eleven p.m. and Evelyn said she would be here early too, although she never said a time. I walk out on the balcony where Tobias prepares everything for the barbecue. Ever since he got that thing he uses it every other weekend and pouts whenever it rains. Sometimes he is more of a child than Hunter.

"Why hello gorgeous" he says when he sees me.

"Why hello yourself handsome." I wrap my arms around his neck and we kiss passionately for a minute or so before we all pulled out of our own little world when the doorbell rings. "Saved by the bell" I say seductively.

"That's not saving" he says and grabs me by my wrist pressing my palm to his now aroused cock. "See what you did?" he asks in a husky voice.

"Don't worry" I say and lean closer to his ear. "I can take care of it" I say and pull back to see his reaction. His eyes widen and his eyes turn black with lust.

"Babe, you're killing me here" he says in his low I wanna fuck you right now voice.

"Sorry. Rain check" I say and he nods, trying to adjust in his pants, which probably are very uncomfortable right now.

I go to the front door and open it to find Marlene and Uriah, as well as Lynn and Camy standing there.

"Happy Birthday, Tris" they all say at once.

"Thank you, guys. Please, come in" I say and let them enter the apartment. They set the gifts they brought me on the coffee table and the living room and Uriah goes to help Tobias on the balcony. I offer the girls some refreshments before I bring to beers to the guys. Tobias takes his and I kiss him on the cheek.

"Hey" he says and I turn around. "Not good enough. I want a real kiss" he says.

"That was a real kiss" I say with a chuckle, but move closer to kiss him on the mouth nevertheless.

For a second time today our kiss is disturbed by the door bell ringing. I pull away and walk inside and to the front door. I open it and find my parents and surprisingly Evelyn with them.

"Happy Birthday" they say at the same time and laugh at the coincidence.

"Thank you. Please, come in. make yourselves comfortable" I say. My dad goes and puts my presents on the coffee table but I realize at this rate we won't be able to put anything else on it. I ask him to help me put them next to the stairs and out of everyone's way.

"Can we help you with something?" mom asks when she comes to me followed by Evelyn but I shake my head no.

"You are my guests" I say.

"Please tell us when you need help" Evelyn says to me with a smile.

"Thanks. Will do" I say and go to open the door when the doorbell rings again.

I open it to find Tori and Dwayne standing outside and just as I let them in I see Shauna and Zeke and little Hunter coming my way.

"Hey Tris. Happy Birthday, girl" Zeke says and hugs me.

"Thanks you."

"Hello Tris. Happy Birthday" Shauna says. "Say Happy Birthday to your godmother, Hunter" she says and the baby coos. I first kiss Hunter's forehead before kissing Shauna's cheek.

"Thank you" I say to both of them and let them in.

One by one all of my guests arrive and everybody seems to have a good time. I put on some music, loud enough to create a nice ambiance but not too loud as to disturb anyone. Shauna put Hunter down for his nap in the master bedroom and walks around with the baby monitor. The guys, including my dad and Jack admire Tobias's barbecue while the girls all discuss the final wedding arrangements with me. Tobias and I had both our bachelor respectively bachelorette parties last Saturday and are now waiting impatiently for Saturday, June 4th to come. I'm anxious, but not because of the wedding, but because I can't wait to be Mrs. Tobias Eaton. I glance toward my future husband every now and then and smile when he and I lock eyes several times today.

Around 2 p.m. we eat the food Tobias and the guys prepared on the grill plus some things I made yesterday so to please all our guests. But I'm pleased to see that at least here they will try out foods from other factions as well. Tobias sits on a chair and I sit on his lap sharing the same plate and feeding each other. We talk to our friends and family and just have a good time, even though it's a week day. But we have our cell phones near and in case something's up Tori and Dwayne will take care of it.

Several people keep asking me about the honeymoon, but I can only guess that it will be in Amity, since Tobias refuses to tell me anything. After everyone is finished with their food Tobias helps me bring out three cakes. Two Dauntless cakes and a Red Velvet cake with one single candle on top of it. Everyone sings "Happy Birthday" to me and when the tune dies down I close my eyes and blow the candle.

Tobias hands me a knife and I cut first the Red Velvet then the Dauntless cake. One by one each of my guests gets a piece of cake, although I'm sure I've handed Uriah at least three. Nevertheless, he swears he didn't eat any. I laugh and give him yet another one.

It is close to six p.m. when the last people leave our apartment. Tobias left half an hour ago to drop off my parents and his mom and is bound to be back soon. I go upstairs and take a long hot shower figuring that's exactly what I need to relax after this nice, but stressful day.

The hot water hits my skin repeatedly and I close my eyes enjoying the warmth. But then a cool current of air hits my naked skin and I shiver. I turn around and find my beloved Tobias standing there fully undressed and aroused in front of me. I smile up at him and he presses himself close to me. We kiss passionately and I can feel his erection between me twitching. I pulling away just enough to slide down and kneel before him. I grab his engorged manhood in my small hand and start stroking him. He gasps at my touch and I grin to myself. He puts his right hand on the tile wall steadying himself while his left hand goes into my hair. I lick his length from base to tip several times and feel him shiver. I press a soft kiss to the tip and lick around it before opening my mouth as wide as I can and taking him in. He tenses up and I start bobbing my head over his shaft for several minutes building up his pleasure. I release his cock from my mouth and start stroking it again while licking and sucking on his balls. He pushes my face closer to him and I smirk at his lack of restrained. I do this a few more moments before taking him back in my mouth and starting a frantic pace which surely will drive him crazy and over the edge. It doesn't take him long and he tenses up again before spilling his seed into my mouth. I swallow his thick, white semen like it's nectar and smile sweetly when I look up. His eyes are closed, but his expression is of pure bliss. I caress his thighs and he finally opens his eyes and looks at me full of love. He holds out his hands and helps me up but I've been kneeling for such a long time that it is impossible for me to stand on my own. He holds me close to him and kisses my shoulder and my neck and sucks lightly on my pulse point.

We finish our shower and walk into the bedroom, both naked and still wet. Tobias pulls down the comforter and we lie down on the bed. Well, at least I do. He immediately settles down at the edge of the bend and opens and bends my knees. He licks my slick and I feel the familiar tingling sensation in my body that announces more pleasure than I could possibly handle. I don't know how he does it, but every time it feels like the first and the last and all the times in between, all at once. He darts his tongue out and licks my folds and the settles over my throbbing nubbin. He takes it gently between his teeth and nibbles at it, before sucking it completely into his mouth. I moan loudly and I throw my head back, heat rising from my core threatening to set me on fire. He replaces his talented tongue with his thumb and starts darting his tongue in and out of my womanhood. "More" I moan and he replaces his tongue with a finger, but that's hardly enough. "More" I moan again and he adds a second finger increasing the pace, while licking with abandon my soaking wet pussy. The speed at which he pounds into me is so high that I can't keep myself on the mattress anymore. I lift my hips and push them closer to his hand and mouth, but until he thrusts his rock, hard cock into me and fucks me like there's no tomorrow it just won't be enough. He keeps thrusting his fingers in and out of me and licks my folds and rubs my clit and I come hard and cry out his name as the waves of pleasure drown me.

Once I've come undone he joins me on the bed and lies down next to me, gathering me in his arms. I never feel closer to him than just right after I give myself to him completely. I am his and he is mine and it has been this way for a while.

I lay my head over his chest where his heart beats almost as fast as mine. In this moment I realize something. For the longest while I've been afraid. Afraid to lose him, afraid to be myself, afraid of so many things that could go wrong. But these moments that we share are more precious than anything and no one knows how long they will last. We can have another year together or we can have fifty. What matters is the here and now and him and me. And I know what I want. I want him. Forever. And I want to build a future with him. Not the city's future, but ours. I want his babies and I want them soon. I take a deep breath and look up into his eyes. He smiles at me and I feel just the way I felt when our eyes first locked that day nearly a year ago when I jumped first and he pulled me out of that net.

"Tobias?"

"Yes, love?"

"Let's make a baby" I say and he looks at me quizzically. He must think I have lost my mind.

"Are you sure?" he asks after a while.

"Yes. I realized there is never a right time. We'll always have work, there'll always be problems, but I don't care. I want us to be a family. A whole family. And I want kids. And I want them soon. I know you want them too. I've seen how you are with Hunter and I know you will be an awesome father and frankly I can't wait to hold my little boy in my arms." He smiles brightly at me and then kisses me.

"Thank you. Ever since you've started showing me those dreams with our little boy I've been yearning to hold him, kiss him, play with him. Just have him" he says happily.

"I know what you mean. Having a glimpse of him is just so unfair when all I want is to have all of him."

"But isn't the shot still active?" he asks.

"I would have to go to the hospital tomorrow to renew it, but if I don't then who knows what might happen."

"How about we start practicing now?" he asks with a glint of mischief in his eyes. I giggle and we start all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: First, thanks to all of you who suggested names for Shauna's and Zeke's baby. 
> 
> Second - I thought of giving in and let Tris and Tobias try for a baby. I don't know how fast she'll get knocked up (as in how many chapters till the good news :)) but I plan on not letting you wait too long.
> 
> Third, I have a little difficulty keeping up with the current update schedule. i will try to keep it up, but in case I can't, know that I'm trying really hard. Also, suggestions for future plots or even small stuff would be helpful.
> 
> Fourth, I had this idea in my head of a modern day FourTris fic. What do you guys think?


	61. Chapter 61

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for updating so late. I had a little problem yesterday with a pipe in the kitchen. Long story short, I had to swim through my kitchen :)
> 
> I had a few reviews and PM from you guys. Some of you want a FourTris baby, others don't. I'm a little torn. I do agree that Tobias and Tris are young, but we have to consider the world they live in. The reason why I want a FourTris baby is because they are almost married and they had their time with ups and downs. However, there are a few things that will happen (don't ask me what, haven't figured it out yet - but something needs to happen).

61

Today is Choosing Day. Lauren, Christina and Uriah went with the Dauntless born to the Hub and will return with all those who chose Dauntless this year. Tobias and I stayed behind to prepare everything for their arrival.

"Hey, Four" we hear Zeke's voice and we both turn from the net to look at him. He brought Hunter and immediately my eyes light up when I see this little sunshine. I jump of the podium and take three huge steps. I hold out my arms so that Zeke places the little baby in my hold.

"Hello Hunter. Do you remember me? I'm your aunt Tris" I say in a baby voice and the baby smiles at me. "Yeah, you remember me. You are such a smart little boy. Yes you are." He looks up at me makes some bubbles and I laugh. "Oh look Four, how cute he is" I say turning around to look at my soon to be husband. He smiles and comes next to us.

"Yeah, he is. But Zeke the initiates are almost here. This is no place for a baby" he says looking at Zeke serious.

"I know man, but the little guy wanted to wish you two good luck" Zeke defends and Tobias raises an eyebrow. "Okay, okay. We'll go" he says and comes to take little Hunter, but I shake my head no.

"Tris, come on, baby. The initiates are almost here" Tobias says a little amused, but also exasperated.

"No. I need my daily fill of Hunter. Right little guy? Yes I do" I talk to him and he smiles, but I give him to his father nevertheless. "I expect to see the little guy later" I say raising a finger to Zeke and he laughs.

"Don't worry" he says and leaves.

"You could have let me hold him a little while longer" I say punching Tobias's side lightly and he wraps his arms around my waist.

"Right. We both know that the longer you hold little Hunter, the harder it is for you to give him back. Even to his parents" he says with a chuckle.

"His just so cute" I say pouting.

"Not as cute as ours" he whispers. I look at him and smile. Since yesterday I'm unprotected, it can happen any minute, although Addison explained to me when I told her that we wanted to try for a baby that it might take a while for my body to eliminate the remainder of the birth control shot. But that doesn't stop us from trying. In any case, we decided that it is time for us and it will happen when it happens. No pressure. But we avoided telling anyone. We want to get pregnant and be sure everything is fine, before announcing it.

"There's a long road until that day" I say, but I know what he means. The boy in my dreams or maybe visions. I don't know. I still have no clue why the little boy makes a guest appearance every now and then.

"Good thing we started on it already" he says with a smirk and bends down to kiss me. We kiss for a while when someone clears their throat. I turn around and find Tori with an amused look on her face.

"I thought we are supposed to be the warrior faction, not the make out faction" she says with a grin and I laugh at her joke.

"You think it's easy for me to not kiss this hunk of man that I can call mine when he's wearing such tight tee shirts?" I ask avoiding his gaze, but I hear him chuckle.

"Well, Tris, you are a Dauntless leader. You need to show more restraint than that. We want to inspire people to be warriors, not lovesick" she says and sticks her tongue out.

"Ha, you are one to talk. The other day you and Dwayne ate off of each other's faces. In the middle of the cafeteria" I defend.

"They already know us" she says.

"Sure. When I do it it's gross, but when you do it it's okay" I say and push her shoulder lightly and she laughs.

"Ladies, as much as I enjoy the teasing, our initiates have arrived. The first one will jump soon" Tobias says and we go closer to the net.

It doesn't take long and the first jumper hits the net. He is a Dauntless born named Alex. Tobias helps him out and I pat his back. The initiates jump one by one until the very last, followed by Christina, Lauren and last but not least Uriah who made it a point to jump face first. Of course, he hurt himself a bit in the process.

"Idiot" Christina mutters.

"Hey, I'm injured here" he says.

"Your own fault" Lauren tells him and I hold back a laugh.

We have fifteen new initiates. A lot less than last year, but it's not unheard of. We have seven Dauntless born and eight transfers. Two Amity, three Candor and three Erudite. No Abnegation. I guess Tobias and I are a rarity after all. The initiates gather around and wait for us to address them. The Dauntless born already know us, but the transfers have no idea what they are in for.

"Welcome to Dauntless" Tobias says transforming into Four. I look around to see their reaction and they don't disappoint. They look intimidated. I wonder if I could ever pull something like that off. "You have chosen the warrior faction to protect everyone in the city, either from what lays on the outside or whatever happens on the inside. Your training here will take ten weeks. The first stage is physical. We will train you until you reach your breaking point. After that we see how strong you are mentally. Again breaking point. By the end of initiation you will be ranked according to your accomplishments during this ten week training. Ranking will determine what jobs you will get. There is always a possibility that you will not make it into the faction, in case you are not suited for our faction. Now that this is out of our way, let's get to know each other. My name is Four" he says and I bite my cheek from the inside to not look at Christina. At this point last year she asked him about his name. Not the brightest idea of hers. But what can you do. She was Candor after all.

"Four? Like the number?" a girl from Candor asks. Huh, I guess history does repeat itself.

"Yes, exactly like the number" he says calmly.

"'Cause one, two, three were taken?" she asks again. Wow, she is either related to Christina or really dumb. Although, you could have said the same thing about her last year. Tobias steps forward and towers over her.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"Uhm… Monica" she says looking up at him and shrinking in her own skin.

"Well, Monica, if you want to survive here you better learn to keep your mouth shut" he says and I have to pinch myself to not burst out laughing. That's the exact same thing he told Christina last year. "As I was saying, before I got interrupted, my name is Four and besides being your initiation instructor I'm also one of your leaders" he says and everyone looks at him, either stunned or intimidated. "Our faction is currently lead by three leaders. Me, Tori to my left and Tris to my right" he says. An Erudite boy scoffs and Tobias immediately turns his attention to him. "There something wrong?" he asks pretending to be calm, but I know him well to know that he is like a volcano ready to explode right now.

"Uhm…" the boy stutters.

"What's your name?" Tobias asks.

"Uhm… Jeremy" he answers.

"Did I say something funny, Jeremy?"

"Uhm… I just don't understand how she is a leader?" he says. Uh-oh, big mistake buddy.

"Who do you mean?" Tobias asks although we all know that he meant me.

"The small blonde" he says looking at me. When he looks at Tobias again and sees that he is getting angry Jeremy quickly adds "she seems so young for a leader."

"Age is irrelevant here" Tori quickly steps in. "Tris was chosen by the faction and ranked first during her initiation. Until you accomplish something similar you will refrain from scoffing or making any other sound or comment that is disrespectful toward any of your leaders. People have been kicked out for less, but the three of us pride ourselves for being fair" she says sternly and he nods. The Dauntless born, who are standing in the back make comments like "you are so dead."

"Tris will be your instructor as well" Tobias says. "She and I will train the transfers, while Lauren and Uriah the Dauntless born. And just to be clear, while Tris is your leader and you owe her respect for that alone, she is one of the reasons why life around here is better. You can ask around any Dauntless."

"Dauntless born go with Lauren and Uriah, transfers stay here" I say and the Dauntless born leave snickering and making more comments. Ever since that Jeremy boy opened his mouth Tobias keeps staring at him. I move closer to him and put my hand on his back where his Amity tattoo is. He looks my way and his gaze softens.

"Follow us. We will show you around" he says and makes a point to grab my hand in his, making it clear that I'm his and his alone. It's a bit macho of him, but somehow I like this possessive side in him.

We show the transfers the cafeteria, the infirmary, the Pit and then the dorms. Yeah, nothing has changed here since I last entered this room almost a year ago. Brings back lots of memories, not all of them good. Actually, most of them are bad.

We let them change into typical Dauntless attire and leave to go to the cafeteria. Lunch is almost ready and I for one am starving. Tobias takes my hand in his again and we walk to the cafeteria where our friends wait for us. I sit next to Shauna who holds Hunter in her arms, while Tobias slides in next to me.

I take the little one in my arms and just watch him for a moment. He is so small and yet he brought us all a lot of joy. I can't wait to hold my own little boy in my arms and show him to everyone around here. While I'm still holding Hunter Tobias fills my plate and I see from the corner of my eyes how the initiates enter the cafeteria. They sit at the table next to our and take turns in glancing over at us.

"You need something?" Tobias asks Jeremy who was currently looking over at our table.

"Uhm, no Four. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for earlier" he says.

"You need to apologize to Tris" Tobias says not even looking at the boy.

"Uhm, yeah. I'm sorry Tris. I didn't expect anyone so young to be a leader and… a mother" he says and I glance at him.

"I'm not his mother. She is" I point at Shauna. "I'm his godmother. And apology accepted." After that I give Hunter back to his mother and start eating my food.

"Excited?" Christina asks.

"About the initiates?" I ask confused.

"No. Next week you will be a married woman. You will be Mrs. …" she stops realizing she doesn't know Tobias's last name. As a matter of fact, she doesn't even know his first name.

"You'll know next week" Tobias says smirking and a lot more at ease than a few minutes ago.

"Uh, come one. Tell us now" Christina whines.

"Chris, not so loud" Shauna says and we see that little Hunter fell asleep. His parents realized that while being in the cafeteria and it being loud in here the little guy actually sleeps here, but he gets startled when someone close to him is loud.

"Sorry" Christina says apologetically.

"And to answer your question" I say "yeah I'm very excited. We both are" I say looking at him and grabbing his hand under the table. He bends forward and places a chaste kiss on my lips.

"What's the plan?" Zeke asks.

"What plan?" Tobias asks him confused.

"Saturday" Zeke says.

"Oh. Well I'll sleep in my old apartment and Tris at home" Tobias tells him.

"Actually the girls and I will have a sleepover" I tell him. "Christina insisted" I add and he nods smiling.

"Right. Saturday morning we will get ready and then head to the Navy Pier park around one p.m. At three p.m. is the ceremony, followed by the reception" he explains.

"Everything will look so awesome" Christina says. "The girls and I have prepared everything for your big day."

"Nothing too extravagant, I hope" I say and give her a knowing look.

"Of course not. And to prove it ask Shauna" Christina says. Shauna and I have similar taste so I trust she will watch over the arrangements. Shauna nods in approval and I turn my attention back to Christina who keeps telling us what will happen on Saturday. I mean, she has planned every minute of that day.

After lunch we go with the initiates to the training room. We show them around and explain them that they have no business here unsupervised. If anyone steps out of line he or she will be punished. The first thing Tobias does is taking them out for a run. I join them, since I haven't done that in a while. As expected, the initiates are weak and almost immediately out of breath. However, we decide to push them further to see who has the stronger will to succeed. Two of them stand out, Jeremy, the boy from Erudite and another boy, Vince from Amity. We return to the training room and show them the ranking board. We award Vince first place, because he was faster than Jeremy. We explain to them while most of their training transfers and Dauntless-born will be trained separately there will be occasions where they will be trained together. They are also ranked together.

Tobias makes them all do 50 sit-ups and 50 push-ups. I remember does. God, I hated him that first day. I chuckle at the memory.

"What's so funny?" he asks in a whisper.

"I just remembered my first day here. My instructor, a real pain in the ass, made me do those as well. I hated him for that" I say and look at him.

"But not anymore" he asks smiling, but I sense a hint of uncertainty, which I don't understand.

"No, now all I feel for him is love. And the occasional frustration when he leaves the toilet seat up after I told him a few dozen times to not to." He chuckles and kisses my temple. "But all in all, the pain in the ass instructor turned out to be the love of my life" I say and now he kisses me on the lips, not caring that we aren't alone here. We here a few of them whistle and break apart. Tobias glares at them and they all look pale and try their best not to make eye contact with him again.

"See, that's what I was talking about" Tori says from behind us and we both turn around to look at her. "You two are distracting them" she says smiling. "I don't even want to imagine how you two will be like after the honeymoon."

"Tori, you are one of my closest friends" Tobias starts saying and I clear my throat. "One of our closest friends. Ever since this beautiful creature agreed to be with me I'm on a non-stop honeymoon."

We both laugh at what he said, but I have to agree with him. We have been together almost a year now and every day we love each other more. I can't imagine my life without him.

The initiates finish their workout and we allow them to return to the dorms until supper. Jeremy approaches me and I wait for him to say something.

"Can I help you with something?" I ask polite, but not friendly. I'm his instructor, not his friend.

"I wanted to ask you how you did it. I mean you are short and a girl" he says looking me straight in the eyes.

"Did what?" I ask, pretending not to understand what he is actually asking.

"Rank first. I mean what it is your trick?" he asks.

"There's no trick, other than hard work. When I was an initiate people were cut if they didn't make it through the three stages of initiation. You are lucky. You won't get cut, but you might end up with a low paying job. Also, if you don't watch your tongue I might have to put you in your place. Don't forget, I'm one of your leaders" I say sternly and he backs off.

"I didn't mean to offend you" he says.

"No, you just think just because I'm a woman I'm less worthy than you. I've been dealing with people like you for a long time now. And I've learned how to make myself heard and respected. While here you will learn that we are equal, both girls and boys are trained the same way. Those in my initiate class thought they were better because they were guys, but I ranked first. However, it came with a prize. But as I said, when I was an initiate the stakes were much higher. We either ranked above the red line or we became factionless."

"I'm sorry" he says again.

"We'll see about that" I say. "now go to the dorms and rest. We will start early tomorrow."

He leaves and Tobias comes over. I've seen him watching me the whole time and I wondered why he hasn't come to my rescue yet. Even though he respects me and is confident in my ability to defend myself he still likes to see me as the damsel in distress that needs to be rescued.

"Thank you" I say.

"For what?"

"for letting me handle it. I know you heard him and I know you want to punch him, but please don't. There are only three days left until the wedding and I don't want you to have bruises all over your handsome face" I say caressing his cheek. He leans into my touch and smiles.

"What makes you think that little prick could land a punch?" he asks full of himself.

"Tobias, I've seen you fight. Sometimes you get carried away and fall on your face only to prove a point. Please, don't. At least wait for after the wedding."

"Anything you want" he says dramatically. I giggle at his response.

"Come on, let's get you home and into the shower" I say smirking.

"I haven't even worked out… ah. Yeah right. The shower" he says when he gets my point.

We finish up in the training room locking it behind us and head home to make sweet love. Or rather wild shower sex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: New initiates... thoughts.
> 
> Now, FourTris baby will happen. Question is when. I have two dates for you for the baby's birth. April 6th or October 10th (obviously not this year). Which one do you prefer?


	62. Chapter 62

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for not updating as regular as I used to. Work is keeping me pretty busy and I don't want to rush things with the story. I try to keep up with the updates, but sometimes it's just difficult. I've posted a couple of drabbles in Moments we share. i know it's not the same, but a little something until a next chapter comes.

62

I wake early the next morning and try to get out of bed. Difficult, if a still sleeping Tobias keeps me pinned down. I chuckle and turn around in his arms, then place a tender kiss on his parted lips. He almost immediately responds and thrusts his tongue inside my mouth, mating it with mine. I moan softly into his mouth and I feel him smile. We finally part and look at each other.

"Good morning, honey" I say.

"Good morning, love" he replies in a husky voice.

"We need to get up. The initiates need to be yelled at" I say with a chuckle. He groans.

"I don't want to get up" he whines and I look at him with a curious expression on my face. "It feels too good in here" he quickly adds and I smile.

"Come on, we have to go. We also have a few things to do before the wedding on Saturday."

"Alright. What time is it?" he asks. I look at the nightstand watch and see it's almost seven a.m. We need to meet the initiates at eight in the training room.

"Too late to fool around" I say. "Come on. If you behave I'll reward you later" I say and manage to get out of bed.

"Are you making me a cake?" he asks jumping up.

"I actually meant a nice massage and a relaxing bath, but sure, I'll make one" I say chuckling while I gather my clothes and walk into our bathroom.

"Can I eat the cake off of you?" he asks following me into the shower cabin.

"Whatever you want" I say seductively.

"If you want me to behave you need to stop being so damn sexy" he says before crashing his lips over mine.

We don't manage to keep our hands off of each other, but do arrive in time in the training room. The eight transfers look tired and ready to faint. Tobias shows them all how to use the punching bags and we join them for a little work out. After the first half hour most of them groan in frustration because they are tired, but Tobias yells at them that they won't get any lunch if they don't continue. We walk around to see how they are doing, correcting their stances and give them advice as to how to improve. Some of them listen others think that they know better. Monica, the Candor girl, seems to have some trouble. I stand next to her for a while watching her. After five minutes she turns around to look at me.

"I can't do this anymore" she whines.

"Why?" I ask her.

"I'm tired" she says.

"You aren't used to it yet. It'll come in time. You need to continue, you need to push your body to the limit. Every day a little more, until you are so used to it that your body won't protest anymore" I explain.

"Was it like this for you too?" she asks.

"Yes. The first couple of weeks were very bad. One of our former leaders made it a point to come and watch the initiates. He was cruel and got off on seeing us suffer. Unlike you guys we had to fight for our very own existence here. I wasn't lying when I said that everyone who was under the red line was kicked out of Dauntless. It was unfair, but we couldn't do anything about it. But it's different for you. However, if you want anyone to respect you, you need to work harder and show that you deserve to be here. No one will point fingers at you for not ranking first or high in general, but they will if you don't even try. You need to find your own pace and then push yourself to be better. Forget about the others. You compete with yourself. Whatever you achieve today make it a point to outdo yourself tomorrow and so on" I say and she smiles.

"Thanks, Tris. You are really nice. Not like Four" she says whispering and I have to hold back a chuckle.

"He can be really frightening" I say.

"Yeah. Is it true that you and Four… you know… that you are a couple?" she asks curious. Just like Christina.

"Yeah" I say and look at him as he explains how to stand properly in front of the bag.

"May I ask how is it that someone as nice as you is with someone as intimidating as Four?"

"Despite it not being it any of your business" I say a little pissed "Four is supposed to be intimidating. He and I are your instructors. It is our job to prepare you for life around here. If you can't make it through initiation than we really have to consider if you would make it in Dauntless. And just because you see him only like this doesn't mean he is like this with me. As a matter of fact, we are getting married this weekend" I say proudly.

"What?" she asks a little too loud, making the others turn toward us. "Sorry" she says apologetically.

"It's okay. Now, back to work" I say and walk to Tobias.

"What was that all about?" he asks confused. I wrap my arms around his waist and kiss his chest. "Tris?" he asks a little amused, but tries to keep a straight face.

"I talked to Monica, the Candor girl that had a problem with your name" I say amused "I told her that she needed to get her head in the game if she wanted to make it here."

"But why did she yelp?" he asks insistent.

"She asked how it was possible that someone as nice as me is with someone as intimidating as you" I say with a chuckle.

"And?"

"And what?"

"What was your answer?"

"I told her that just because you are like this with them doesn't mean I get the same treatment. Of course, I didn't tell her that you were the same ass with me when I was an initiate" I say grinning.

"I wasn't an ass. I was trying to keep my feelings for you hidden, you know that" he says with a small pout.

"I know, baby. But the reason she yelped was because I told her that I'll marry you this Saturday" I say and he smiles brightly. He bends down and pecks my lips, before transforming back into Four.

"Back to work" he says loud over my head. I turn around and see a few of the initiates have been staring at us. The moment Tobias yells at them they turn away and start punching again.

By lunch we all leave, the initiates to the dorm and Tobias and I home to take a shower. While I shower Tobias warms up the lasagna I made yesterday and while he showers I prepare everything for his cake. Thanks to Tobias's help I am able to put the cake in the oven and in the meantime we eat lunch. We decided with the initiates to see each other again at two p.m., which gives us an hour and fifteen minutes. The cake still needs to bake for another half hour and the cream and icing is already in the fridge. Tobias scoops me up in his arms and carries me to our bedroom, where we work out some more, if you know what I mean.

We finally meet up with the initiates again and decide to take them out for a run. We decided to do this together with the Dauntless-born. Tobias and I run in the front, while Uriah and Lauren run in the back. We start running and soon near the border between Dauntless and the factionless sector. I already hear them complain and groan a lot, but neither one of us stops. They already know that they will be in trouble if they stop, especially after not even thirty minutes. Nearing one of the six check points we put up for this exercise Tobias and I slow down indicating to the rest that we will stop for a little bit. When everyone is here Tobias goes around and checks if they are okay. While we all agreed that the initiates needed to be pushed from the very beginning, none of us wants them to get hurt or pass out because they are exhausted. There is a line between pushing them and torturing them. Tobias comes back and tells me that at least three of them, two transfers and one Dauntless-born, need a few minutes more to recover. We decide to add another ten minutes to our break and discuss a few more details for next week with Uriah and Lauren. Dwayne and Christina offered to step in while Tobias and I are on our honeymoon and they will join us tomorrow the whole day so that the initiates get to know them and understand that they will be their temporary instructors while we are gone.

When everyone has rested enough we resume our run until the next check point and so on, until we finally return to the compound. It's still time so we put the initiates to do a few sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups before we finally dismiss them for the day. We decide to go home and take a quick shower before joining our friends downstairs in the cafeteria for supper.

"How was training today?" Shauna asks when we sit down next to her.

"It was okay. They still need to get in shape before they even think of starting to fight each other" I say.

"They are probably the lamest bunch I've ever seen, including the ones from last year" Tobias says snickering and everyone from my initiate class "hey"'s him and the rest laugh.

"Not cool, man" Uriah says pouting and everyone at our table laughs even harder.

We eat our supper talking leisurely to our friends about our upcoming nuptials. It was decided that I would spend the night at our apartment with Christina, even though initially we wanted to have a girls sleepover, but Christina decided I would be too tired the next day if we did. So, she would be the only one there to help me get ready Saturday morning and then Dwayne would drive us, together with Tori to the park. Tobias will sleep in his old apartment, for the first time in months since we moved into the larger one. He will drive to the park before me, helping with the last minute arrangements.

We say goodbye to our friends and head home. Today was very long and physically exhausting, but I did promise my wonderful fiancé a massage and a bath. I make him undress and lie on his stomach. I sit on his buttocks and start working on his neck and shoulders. He starts moaning and I know I'm doing it right. I can feel the knots underneath my fingers and try to get them out, without hurting him.

"Please tell me if I hurt you" I say and he moans again.

"Don't worry, love. It's like a back massaging goddess works me right now" he says and I laugh.

"Still, I only saw Camy do it and you are the only one I tried it on. I don't know if I'm doing it right, but Camy told me to always ask whoever I give a massage" I explain.

"You're doing fine, baby. And just to be clear, I am the only one who gets touched by these wonderful hands, my beautiful bride" he says and I blush.

"I see we are falling into old habits, Mr. Caveman" I say and he laughs.

"Damn right we are, Mrs. Caveman" he says.

"Not until Saturday."

"Too long" he whines.

"Have you told the guys that you will get married as Tobias?" I ask.

"No, I will tell them before the wedding. Did you tell the girls?"

"Of course not. It's your secret not mine."

"Alright. I will gather them shortly before the wedding and tell them. Honey?" he says after moaning again.

"Hm?"

"Can I make love to you now?" he asks and I almost burst out laughing by the way he asked.

"Yes, please."

I barely speak the words and he turns around, almost knocking me off of the bed and wraps his arms around me. He makes quick work of my clothes throwing them on the floor and pinning me down on the bed. He covers my now naked body with his, pressing every inch of his hard muscled body against mine and eliciting long, desire filled moans from me. We make love that night twice, before we finally fall asleep in each other's arms, happy and fulfilled. I can't believe that the day after tomorrow I'm officially Mrs. Tobias Eaton and I will then lie in the arms of my husband.

The next morning we wake up early. We shower together, somehow managing to not end up having sex, get dressed and eat a light breakfast. We head downstairs to the training room where we find the initiates at the punching bag. To our surprise the initiates aren't the only ones in the room. Dwayne already looks over them which means he ordered them to work out on the bags.

"Morning, Dwayne" I say and he turns around smiling at me. He stretches out his hand and shakes Tobias's.

"Morning, Tris, morning Four" he greets us.

"So, how are they doing?" Tobias asks.

"Weak, but what can you expect after just two days?" he asks rhetorical.

"Well, we still have time to get them in shape" I say and they nod. After Christina joins us we gather the initiates.

"Listen up" Tobias says in his most intimidating voice. "Tomorrow you will have the day off. You are not allowed to leave the compound without a member. If you do you are out for good. And don't even try something, I have my eyes and ears everywhere" he states. "Starting Sunday Dwayne and Christina will take over for Tris and me for a week, afterwards we will return. You will listen to them and you will respect them. As long as they are here in charge they have my blessing to kick your asses or kick you out. Have I made myself clear?" Tobias asks and a few nod eagerly, scared of what might happen if they don't.

"Why are they replacing you?" Jeremy asks. I think that guy has a death wish. He is already on Tobias's black list.

"None of your concern, Jeremy" Tobias growls. "But if you have a problem with my decisions you can always leave and try elsewhere."

"Just asking" Jeremy huffs.

"They are getting married" Monica says with a squeal and I can see from the corner of my eyes that Christina is trying hard to hold back a smile.

"What? Who's getting married?" Trevor, an Amity transfer asks her.

"Tris and Four of course" she says looking at us. The others look at us as well and some smile others look as if they were told some deadly disease is killing them slowly.

"Really?" Jeremy asks looking at me now, ignoring Tobias.

"Yes, really" I answer and step forward putting my right arm around Tobias's waist, while he puts his left arm around my shoulders. He looks my way and smiles briefly before he turns back to look at the initiates.

"This doesn't change anything for you, except that Dwayne and Christina will be your instructors for the next week. I suggest you take advantage of the day off tomorrow, because most likely you won't get any other until you finish initiation" he tells them. "Now back to work. Show me how you punch those bags."

We let them punch the bags while watching them intently. It is important to see how much they have learned and how well they do. We had already decided to start the knife throwing earlier this year and also the shooting. It is important that they get coordinated and focused. We let them punch for about another hour, Tobias and Dwayne checking their stances and movements, correcting if necessary. Christina and I walk over to the cabinet that holds the throwing knives and we prepare the stations. When everything is ready I signal Tobias who keeps stealing glances my way and smiles like a dork every time our eyes meet. He gathers the initiates and they walk toward us.

"The next thing we will do is show you how to throw knives. While some might think it's easy, let me tell you, it's not. You need to stay focused and you need to practice a lot. I will demonstrate the movements first without a knife and then with one" I explain. I show them how to do it, making them copy my movements. I let them do this for about five minutes walking around correcting them if necessary. When I'm satisfied all of them do it right I proceed to the next stage of this exercise. I grab a knife in my right hand and repeat the same movements without releasing the knife. "All of you, go and grab a knife" I tell them and they do as instructed. "Before you start get a feel of the knife, touch it, trace its edges" I tell them. After they did for a while they repeat their movements from earlier without releasing the knives. Again, I let them practice for about ten minutes now, before I decide to show them how it's done. I go to the table and get three knives. I ask them to look my way and they do. I take my stance and I have this overwhelming feeling of déjà vu. I look toward Tobias and he smiles a little. I hand him the knives and take my place in front of the targets. I hear the initiates gasp and some of the girls put their hands over their mouths.

"Stop" Christina says. We look at her confused.

"What?" I ask a little irritated.

"Aren't you afraid he will hurt you?" Kimberly, an Erudite transfer, asks.

"No. I trust, Four" I say and smile at him.

"But what if he scratches you? You get married tomorrow" Monica says shocked.

"You won't scratch me, right honey?" I ask Tobias and he holds back a laugh.

"Of course not, sweetheart. I want my beautiful bride to look at her best and not be a mad, raging bridezilla" he jokes.

"Nice one, hon" I say sarcastically.

"Well, you know me" he still jokes, which is refreshing. He is always so tensed around others.

"Keep going and I might change my mind" I say trying to put on a serious face. His own drops in shock and I realize he suffered enough. "Don't worry, I'll still marry you, but you might not get any more cake" I say and he grins wide.

"I don't get it" Jeremy says.

"You don't have to" Tobias says without looking at him. But Tobias got it. We never got to eat that cake I made after all. We decided we would do it during lunch break.

"Can we go on now?" I ask.

"Just a sec" Christina says.

"Chris, what the hell?" I ask her.

"Just hold on" she says and then I understand what she wants. Apparently she called Uriah to bring the Dauntless-born here so that they can learn how badass Four and Six are.

"Hey, guys" Uriah greets. "Oh, I see we are just in time before the slaughter starts."

"No one's getting slaughtered, Uriah. I would never hurt my soon-to-be wife" Tobias says proudly.

"Yeah, yeah, man. We know you are going to marry her. You haven't shut up ever since she said yes" Uriah teases and Tobias slaps him over the back of his head.

"Guys, please, I can feel myself aging here. Can we please continue?" I plead with them. Tobias turns my way and prepares himself to throw. He breathes in, aims and releases the knife while exhaling. It hits above my head, just like last year.

"You can get closer" Christina says snickering.

"You want me to give her a little trim?" he asks repeating the exact same words he said to Eric a year ago. Christina bobs her head. Tobias takes a second knife, aims and throws. The second one hits the board above my head just underneath the first.

"If you cut me, I swear to God, you will pay, Four" I say pointing at my right ear.

"You honestly think I'm going to let you walk away without a scratch?" he asks teasing. He better. I glare at him and he throws. The knife hits the board next to my left year, but this time he didn't cut me. I step away and all the initiates, both transfers and Dauntless-born cheer loudly.

We then allow the transfers to exercise the knife throwing while supervising them. Uriah left shortly with the Dauntless-born to the shooting range. We let them practice until lunch time and decide together with them that we would meet back here at two p.m. and then go to the shooting range together. We dismiss them and head back home.

I make us some light lunch and while the food is cooking I join Tobias on the couch, who has his eyes closed.

"For a moment I really thought you changed your mind about marrying me" he says serious without opening his eyes.

"Tobias, look at me" I say and he does so. I smile brightly at him. "There is nothing in this world that could keep me from you. When I agreed to marry you I did it without a second thought, without a doubt. I love you more than anything and nothing could make me happier than spend the rest of my life with you. You are the love of my life, my best friend, my partner and soon my husband and father of my children." Tobias looks at me and smiles. It seems like my words really hit him hard. "I'm sorry for making that comment. I really meant the cake, but I realize now that you couldn't have known. I'm sorry" I say apologetically.

"It's alright, love. I know you meant it when you said you would marry me and I know that I shouldn't even consider that you might have changed your mind. You are as eager as I am to get married, but I can't help it. I don't doubt us" he says cupping my face "but sometimes I can't help but wonder why such a perfect creature like you would want to be with someone as damaged as me" he says and I open my mouth to say something but he effectively shuts me up by kissing me. When we part he smiles. "The only explanation I can come up with is that the universe gives me a second chance to be happy in my life and I will do everything to protect it, to protect you and what we have together. I love you so much Beatrice that sometimes I feel like my heart is bursting out" he confesses and tears gather in my eyes. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I would be an empty shell without you. I love you forever, my partner, my best friend, my wife and mother of my children" he finishes and we both let the tears fall that have threatened to spill ever since this emotional conversation started. We kiss for a long while until air becomes an issue.

"We are a mess" I say chocked up.

"We are, but we are each other's mess and I wouldn't want it any other way." He places another kiss on my lips before he gets up and goes into the kitchen to take the food off the stove. We sit down and eat and just enjoy each other's company until desire takes over us and we eat our dessert in our bed off of each other's bodies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: In the next chapter... drum roll... the wedding!


	63. Chapter 63

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobias and Tris get finally married.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here comes the bride!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this one.

63

"Rise and shine, Ms. Prior" Christina says pulling the blanket and uncovering me. She slept in the apartment last night to make sure I would be on schedule. I really don't get why. I just need to shower, let her handle my make-up and hair and get dressed and then get married. I really don't get what all the fuss is about. I reluctantly get up and head downstairs. She already rushed there and I can hear voices.

"Morning" I say groggily.

"Morning" Christina and Marlene say. I look around and see three other people. Camy, Jenny from the beauty parlor and Tori. They say their good morning when I'm down in the kitchen and sit at the island. Tori puts a plate of scrambled eggs in front of me, bacon included and a glass of orange juice. Christina passes mugs of coffee around and sits next to me. "Not that I don't like having you guys here, but could somebody tell me why so many people are in my kitchen?" I ask while sipping from my coffee.

"To help you get ready of course" Christina says smiling.

"To do what?" I ask confused.

"Get married" she says with an expression on her face that says "why the fuck else?"

"I wasn't aware that it required five people to help me get dressed" I say sarcastically.

"Not just dressed, sweetie" Marlene says. "Camy will massage you, so that you can be as relaxed as possible today. Jenny will give you a manicure and a pedicure, Christina will do your hair and Tori your make-up. And I will help you with your dress and stay in touch with everyone while the girls get ready too" she explains.

"Okay…" I say unsure of what else to say. It seems my friends have put more into this day than me. Although the only thing that matters to me is Tobias and finally be married to him. The rest is just collateral information.

After I finish eating I walk upstairs and get a long, hot shower and try to clear my head and calm my nerves. However, it seems like the more we near the time of the ceremony the more nervous I get. I wash every inch on my body thoroughly, I wash my hair, rinse it, apply conditioner, rinse it, soap myself from head to toe a second time and wash everything away. When I'm satisfied I'm all clean I get out of the shower and put on my robe. I towel dry my hair a little, not too much since I know that Christina will want to do something fancy with it.

I exit the bathroom and enter my bedroom where Camy put up a massage table. She closes the door so that we can have our privacy and I let the robe fall down to the ground, lying face down on the table. I let her massage me for about an hour, finishing up with her helping me applying some vanilla body oil. We let the oil sink in and then I put on my bridal lingerie. I put on a silk robe and walk downstairs to find that Jenny already set everything up to start her work. In the meantime, Camy gathers the massage table and leaves and tells me we will see each other later at the wedding, she being Lynn's plus one. I'm really happy those two found each other.

I notice that Tori is in the kitchen working and I assume she offered to make us some lunch, since there won't be any food until after the ceremony, which means at least five or maybe even six p.m. Sure, there will be an entrée, but that won't be enough.

I make small talk with Jenny, she explains me what she is doing, that she uses a special technique to ensure that the manicure and pedicure will last at least the whole honeymoon and after I return I should pay her a visit so that she could remove the professional nail polish. I agree and thank her for helping me. She only smiles and tells me that it is her pleasure. I tell her that I would love for her to be present too, but she politely declines. Jenny has a three year old son who's a little sick and she would hate to leave him alone for such a long time. Right now the child's father takes care of him, but she wouldn't feel good if she would leave her child behind and go partying. I don't have children, but I can understand her. I wouldn't do that either. When she's done I look over her handiwork and thank her profusely for her help and hug her. She leaves the apartment just as Christina returns all dressed up in her bridesmaids dress. I've decided on a soft plum long dress for the bridesmaids. I've seen them all in it, they look gorgeous. The dress is simple and yet elegant.

I let Christina do my hair. She decided to curl it a little giving it a wavy look. A tiara is the only jewelry, besides my engagement ring, that I wear. No necklace, no earrings. I first thought of wearing a veil, but then decided against it. Sometimes less is more. Christina finishes up and while we sit down Marlene returns with my bridal bouquet. When I saw what the florist suggested I knew right away, that's what I wanted. A hand wrapped bridal bouquet made with red roses, and pearl centered stephanotis. The florist added gem stems to the bouquet plus crystal gem pins in the roses. The stems are fully wrapped with black satin ribbon that is secured with crystal gem pins and accented with a bow. It's just beautiful and Dauntless. Marlene puts my bouquet in a vase to keep the flowers fresh and joins us for lunch. Tori made a simple chicken soup to not upset my stomach. She anticipated that I would be too nervous to keep anything else down and it seems she was right. The more times passes the more nervous I get. When I'm done eating Marlene cleans up and I go upstairs to brush my teeth. I return to the living room where Tori already prepared her make-up kit. She allowed the girls to do their own make-up, but insisted she do mine. I thanked her but she only waved it off. We both decided that natural suits me best. She uses light colors only underlining here and there, a light dark grey line to accentuate my blue-gray eyes, mascara and a red lipstick that is applied lightly. I look myself in the mirror and I can't believe that's really me. I thank her again and I go upstairs again to get dressed. Tori leaves my apartment to get dressed as well, while Marlene helps me get ready. I put on my dress, which is a simple ivory colored, delicate and feminine gown that features a sheer v-back and an exquisitely embroidered cotton bodice, as well as an ivory tulle, ballet-inspired ball gown skirt that was made to twirl. I look down and I think I'm going to cry. Marlene hands me a tissue and I make sure not to smear my make-up. I put on my simple white sandals, that are hidden underneath the skirt and walk downstairs to my living room. Tori has returned and she brought Dwayne with her. Christina and Marlene say goodbye to me and walk out of the apartment. Zeke borrowed one of the SUV's and plays chauffeur today for our friends and I'm really thankful for that.

"Tris, you look breathtaking" Tori compliments and I blush.

"Thank you" I say shyly.

"Boy, you will give Four a heart attack when he sees you" Dwayne says grinning.

"I hope not. We still need to get married" I say jokingly and they laugh. Tori gets my bouquet and Dwayne helps me walk out and down the stairs to the garage where we get into a special prepared car. We drive off and I realize this is the last time I'm in Dauntless as Tris Prior. When I'll return I'll be Tris Eaton, Mrs. Tris Eaton. I can't help but smile brightly.

The drive to the Navy Pier park isn't that long, but when you are driving to meet with the love of your life to get married then every minute seems like an eternity. I can barely sit still in my seat and shift from left to right. I can see Dwayne smirking next to me, but he doesn't say anything. When we finally arrive my dad waits outside the tent to welcome me. The car stops and he reaches for the door to open it. He extends his hand and I take it getting out of the car. I immediately embrace my father and he hugs me tightly to him.

"Hi, dad" I say chocked up.

"Hello, sweetheart" he says in my hair. "You ready?" he asks. I can only nod. "Nervous?" he asks, still not letting me go.

"Yes" I answer weakly.

"Why?" he asks. "Do you have doubts?" he asks genuinely concerned. I pull away and look up at him and smile.

"About getting married? No. Just this whole thing. I don't like crowds" I say.

"And yet you are one of the leaders of a very loud crowd" he says jokingly and I have to laugh.

"Yeah, I guess. Where's mom?"

"She's inside. She is waiting for you. Which reminds me" he says and looks toward Tori and Dwayne. "Four asked me to tell you he wants to speak with you. He is in the smaller tent to the right" he tells them. Tori hands me my bouquet and dad and I enter the smaller tent on the left. We are immediately greeted by my mother. I am not surprised to see both my parents wearing Abnegation gray, but both wear newer and even nicer clothes than usual. I hug my mom and almost start to cry again. We sit down on the couch and wait patiently to be told when everything starts.

"Nervous?" mom asks.

"Just a little" I say trying to calm my nerves. "Where you nervous on your wedding day?" I ask and she shakes her head, before smiling brightly at me.

"I was terrified" she says and we laugh.

"But it turned out to be the happiest day of our lives" my father says smiling at us.

"It sure was" she says.

"I'm going to check on Tobias, see if he's alright after…" my dad says but stops mid-sentence.

"After what?" I ask confused and anxious.

"You go check on Tobias, I'll explain her" mom says to dad. He nods and leaves the tent.

"Mom, what happened?" I ask, my anxiety increasing with every second.

"Calm down, sweetheart. Nothing really happened. Marcus showed up and…" mom starts saying and I jump up looking at her shocked.

"What?" I almost yell. "What was he doing here? No one invited him."

"I know. Relax, honey. He came here claiming that he had every right to be here at his son's wedding" she says and I get angry.

"Right, my ass" I say angrily, pacing around.

"Language" mom chastises.

"Sorry. What happened?"

"Tobias made it clear that he had no right here whatsoever. Luckily not many people where here so most don't even know what happened. One of your friends, Dwayne, he escorted Marcus from here and promised he would keep an eye out so that Marcus doesn't return. While the park might be a public place, this party is private" she says reassuringly. Just then Evelyn enters my tent and comes over to hug me.

"Beatrice, you look beautiful" she says smiling at me.

"Thank you, Evelyn. You look lovely as well" I say. She wears a simple dark purple long evening gown and has her hair pulled back in a bun. Simple, but she looks stunning. No one would even consider that she's the groom's mother. I smile at her.

"What's wrong?" she asks noticing my mood.

"I told her about earlier" my mom says and Evelyn nods and gets angry.

"That bastard only came to upset Tobias. Like he even cares. He never cared. I hope he rots in hell" she says.

"Evelyn, please. It's the children's wedding day" mom says and Evelyn looks bashful.

"You are right, Natalie. We shouldn't let that scum ruin our day" she says.

"I couldn't agree more" mom says. We hear music and then my dad enters.

"Everyone's ready" he says. Mom and Evelyn hug me one more time and leave my tent. I remain with my father for another minute before we have to head out. This is it. Goodbye Beatrice Prior, hello Tris Eaton.

"Dad, I wanted to thank you for everything that you have done for me. Ever since I was a little girl you loved me unconditionally and supported me and even when I left you and mom and chose Dauntless you were still there. When I told you that Tobias and I are a couple you acted completely selfish, against everything your faction stands for, trying to protect me. But then you allowed Tobias to show himself and you embraced him. I know you love him like a son and that's making me more than happy. So, I wanted to say thank you and I love you, daddy" I say with tears in my eyes.

"Sweetheart, I love you and your mother and brother more than anything in the world. Tobias is like a son to me and I try to be like a father to him as much as I can and as much as he allows me to. No matter what, know that mom and I love you so much and will always support you. I love you, my sweet little girl" he says and kisses my forehead. We hear the beginning of the bridal march and we know it's time. I get my bouquet and hook my right arm in my dad's left and we walk to the entrance of the bigger tent.

Someone from the inside opens the tent and dad and I walk slowly inside. There are many people here, all staring at me as I walk down the aisle, but nothing seems to capture my attention more than my handsome fiancé at the end of it. He looks so dashing in his black tuxedo and the brightest smile on his face I've ever seen. We smile at each other, forgetting the world around us. There is no one here but the two of us, I don't even hear the music anymore. My heart is beating so fast and so loud that I swear everyone can hear it. We soon reach the end of the aisle and dad literally gives my hand to Tobias. He takes my hand firmly in his without hurting me and smiles at me, while his dark blue eyes are sparkling with the same happiness I'm feeling right now.

"Hey" he says softly.

"Hey" I say back.

"We have gathered here today to celebrate the union between Beatrice Prior and Tobias Eaton" Johanna says and I turn to look at her. It seems she will officiate the wedding. I smile at her and realize what she just said. I turn to Tobias and he smiles.

"I don't care anymore. I have you and you make me strong. I told the people who I consider family a while ago and even though they were shocked they quickly accepted it and promised that they would still call me Four around the compound" he quickly explains.

"Into this union Beatrice and Tobias now come to be joined. If any of you can show just cause why they may not be lawfully wed, speak now, or else forever hold your peace". No one speaks up. Johanna continues her speech, talking about love, about marriage, about partnership, about how the two of us always stood together and fought together, our love growing every day a little more and then we decided it was time to share our happiness with our families and friends. "I believe you two wrote your own vows" Johanna says smiling at us and we nod.

"Tobias, I love you more than anything in this world. You said I make you strong, but you make me strong as well. I respect you for who you are, for what you decided to be, for trying every day to be better, to be kinder. I know it's sometimes difficult, but I'll always be here for you no matter what. You are my partner, my best friend, my lover, the love of my life. Today you become my husband and I become your wife, but I feel like we have been husband and wife for far longer than we both care to admit. We have ups and downs, we fight, we make up, we support each other even if it's something crazy, we build each other up. Whenever I needed you, you were there. Was it to hold my hand or let me cry on your shoulder or protect me from bad things you were always there and I know this will never change. I promise you here today in front of all our friends and our family that for as long as I live I will love you and cherish you, that I will stand by you no matter what, in sickness and in health, whether we are rich or poor. I promise to be your rock, I promise to guard over you, I promise to do everything I can to make you happy every day for the rest of our lives. I love you forever, Tobias" I say and tears are rolling down my cheeks. Tobias tries to wipe them away but they keep coming. He smiles reassuringly and takes a deep breath before he speaks.

"Tris, the day I met you, you literally fell into my arms. You were the first jumper, so brave and fearless. The moment I looked into your eyes I was already a lost cause. My best man and friend teased me a lot about it. He knew that I had an instant crush on you, but I had to keep it professional between us. But the more I got to know you I realized that I was falling for you. But I didn't mind. I was happy every time I saw you. My heart broke every time I had to be rude to you, because I needed to protect you. When you were attacked I almost went out of my mind and I almost killed one of your attackers, but it was your voice, your angel-like voice that pulled me out of my rage and I saw your eyes pleading with me to hold you. I took you with me and took care of you. I never told you this, but that night I watched over you and every time it seemed like you were haunted and had a nightmare I caressed your cheek and whispered words of comfort to you and you seemed to relax. It killed me that I wasn't there earlier to prevent more, but then in the morning you showed me once again how strong you are. I told you then that you are different than the others. Fear doesn't shut you down, it wakes you up. And since then you proved me right over and over again. You sometimes complain that I'm overprotective, but honey as long as I live I will be like this. I will die the day you die. There's no doubt in my mind about that. I am strong physically, but you have a strength in you others can only dream of. You are right, you are my rock. You have been my rock since the very beginning. I can only try to be one for you. When you were kidnapped and your abductor died you felt guilty and I thought that it would tear you apart but you rose from the ashes of that tragedy more beautiful and stronger than ever. I have no doubt that the Dauntless chose right when they chose you to lead them. You are a true leader. You did so much good for so many people and you have so much more to give that it will be my pleasure and my honor to support and help you in anything you decide to do. There aren't words to describe my feelings for you. I could spend a lifetime trying but I still wouldn't be able to capture all the love and devotion I feel for you. But I promise you this, Tris, as long as I live I will love you and respect you, cherish and protect you. I love you, Tris, with all my heart" he finishes and I cry even harder.

"That was so beautiful you two" Johanna says chocked up. "The rings, please" she says and Zeke steps forward with two rings. Tobias and I decided on simple wedding bands made of white gold and has our wedding day and the words "I love you" followed by our names, Tobias's on my ring and my name on his, engraved. "Although I know the answer to my next question, I still have to ask. Tris, will you have this man to be your husband; to live together with him in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful unto him as long as you both shall live?"

"I will" I answer happily and slip Tobias's wedding band on his left ring finger.

"Tobias, will you have this woman to be your wife; to live together with her in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful unto her as long as you both shall live?" Johanna asks him.

"I will" he immediately says and places my wedding band on my left ring finger, joining my engagement ring. Tobias and I look and smile at each other the whole time.

"The rings you have exchanged are a symbol of eternity. May your love be eternal and grow every day until there's so much you decide to share it with your children. I wish you two the very best in the world, my friends" Johanna says. "Now that you have declared your love and we all witnessed it I pronounce you husband and wife. You can kiss your wife now" Johanna says to Tobias and he grins wide. He places his right arm around my waist and his left around my shoulders pulling me close to him. He kisses me slowly at first, just as we agreed, but then the emotions overwhelm us both and we deepen the kiss forgetting that we are in public. But we don't care. We are married. We are finally married. Johanna clears her throat and we break apart, all flushed. "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Tobias Eaton" she says loudly and our Dauntless guests start to cheer, stomp their feet and whistle, while the rest applaud us. Tobias takes my hand in his and we walk outside of the tent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: They are married!!!
> 
> How did you like the wedding?
> 
> Johanna's speech is inspired from the internet. I don't really go to weddings and I combined a little what I found with some stuff I would say.
> 
> Don't forget to check out my You and me against the world board on Pinterest. I've posted all the important pics you need :)
> 
> Thoughts so far?


	64. Chapter 64

64

I'm dancing with my husband for the third time this afternoon. The party is absolutely amazing. The girls did a great job with the decorations. At first I thought it's a little too extravagant when I heard feathers, but now that I see what they did with the tables it's just breath taking.

"Happy?" he asks me.

"Ecstatic" I reply.

"Have I even told you how breathtakingly beautiful you are?" he asks and I blush.

"It's the dress" I say dismissingly. He shakes his head and looks deep into my eyes.

"No, it's you. You could wear your PJ's you had on when you were sick and puked all over me and you would still be the most beautiful creature that ever walked this earth" he says and I blush crimson.

"Tobias" I smack him lightly over his chest and he laughs. "I didn't mean to puke on you" I say and lay my head on his shoulder avoiding eye contact. He chuckles.

"I know, love. I don't mind" he says rubbing my back while we still dance a romantic ballad.

"Of course you don't. You got naked and left the clothes in the laundry basket for me to wash" I playfully bite back.

"You wash them?" he asks. "I thought some leprechauns or elves come and do this for you" he says jokingly.

"Tobias, you are terrible" I say laughing and he hugs me tight.

"Well, you are stuck with me now" he says placing a soft kiss to my crown.

"I'm happy about that. More than you know. I love you, Tobias."

"I love you too, Tris." We part a little and Tobias kisses my lips softly, but soon he deepens it and we moan into each other's mouths. Thankfully, the music is loud enough so that no one can hear us. We are interrupted when my dad taps Tobias's shoulder and asks to dance with me. Tobias hands my hand over to my dad and kisses my temple. He then goes over to my mother and asks her for the dance, while Caleb asks Evelyn.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart" my dad says.

"Thank you, dad. This means a lot to me."

"I'm happy that you and Tobias found each other. He is a good boy. I'm sorry, a good man" he says and we both chuckle. "I'm sure he will take good care of you."

"Me too" I say and lean my head on his shoulder just enjoying the closeness. We dance for a little longer and then my brother comes to dance with me.

"Hey, sis. So, you are married now" he says smirking.

"Yeah. Can you believe it?" I ask happy.

"No. I always saw you just as my little sister and couldn't get my head around the fact that you grew up so much. I know that you and Tobias are both young, but I can see how much he loves you and seeing how mom and dad welcomed him lets me be confident that he is a good person. They would never allow anyone to hurt you" he says.

"Yeah. But don't worry. Tobias would rip his arm out before hurting me."

"I know, I can see it. I'm really happy for the both of you" he says. We dance for a little while longer before Zeke asks for a dance.

"Hey" he says. "Mrs. Tris Eaton" he adds smiling and I light up. I love the sound of that.

"Yeah, surreal, huh?" I say.

"Not really. I knew I would dance with you at your wedding ever since Four told me about you. The day you jumped" he says and I look up at him skeptically.

"Come on" I say raising an eyebrow. He laughs.

"Okay, maybe not the same day, but when Four told me later that evening about the Stiff who jumped first I didn't think much about it, but he kept talking about you. He kept rambling about despite your height and frail form you stood straight and looked him in the eyes fearless. I could tell he was smitten and every time since that day whenever we met, he couldn't stop himself from talking about you. How much you improved, how hard you were working to get better, how you stood up to Eric, how bad he felt that he had to let you fight with people who were taller and stronger than you. When you fought against Peter and he left you unconscious I had to hold Four back to not beat the living crap out of that punk. But after your attack he was devastated. He blamed himself for not paying more attention. He was so scared that he might lose you that it drove him nuts."

"He never told me this" I say honestly.

"Well, you know him. It's hard to get stuff out of him. But whenever I brought you up in a conversation you could literally see him light up and actually smile. He told me how impressed he was by you after the attack, how you took that experience and decided that it would make you stronger and work harder. I know he can be thick sometimes, but he is one of the best people I've met, you included. I have no doubt that you guys will make Dauntless and this whole city a better place."

"Thank you Zeke."

"One more thing. Thank you" he says and I look at him confused.

"For what?"

"For loving him, for supporting him. Ever since he met you he gets out of his shell more and more and that's thanks to you. He has a relationship with his mother because of you and more importantly he has a purpose now. He was only existing before he met you, now he lives and he lives to the fullest. You made him grow and thrive and I can never thank you enough for what you did for my brother, because that's what he is, my brother. Which makes you my sister. But if you ever hurt him, well I won't hurt you, I will just glare at you and let Shauna hurt you. I don't hit girls" he says half jokingly.

"First, I would never hurt him. I love him too much. Second, thank you for being such a good friend, not just to him but to me also. And third, what makes you think you could take me in a fight, Pedrad?" I ask and he laughs.

"Alright, alright" he says and hugs me. We dance until the song ends and I rush back to my seat to sit for a while. I'm too tired to dance one more second. Tobias soon joins me and gathers me in his arms. I sit on his lap, my head on his right shoulder, his left hand on my upper thigh and his right arm around my back, rubbing it lightly.

"Tired, Mrs. Eaton?" he asks cheerful.

"A little bit, Mr. Eaton" I reply happy. I lift my head and look into his ocean-like eyes. We stare at each other for a moment before he crashes his lips over mine. We kiss passionately for a while before pulling apart, drawing in much needed air.

"I had a few interesting conversations" he says with a chuckle.

"Let me guess, people congratulating you and then threatening you that they will hurt you if you hurt me" I say and he looks at me a bit surprised. "I know what you mean, had similar ones myself" I say with a chuckle.

"Really?" he asks incredulous.

"Of course, the people here love you as well, not just me. But I told them they don't have to worry. We love each other more than life itself and we will never do anything to hurt the other or jeopardize our relationship." We kiss again, but this time it's a sweet, loving kiss.

"Have you eaten?" he asks.

"In between dances and walking around attending to our guests. Have you?" I ask him running my hand over his chest.

"Pretty much the same. The cake should be out soon."

"Can't wait to have some, huh?" I tease.

"Even if it's good, it won't be like yours" he says and kisses me again. We stay like this cuddled and watch our guests having fun.

I lay my head on Tobias's shoulder and just enjoy the feel of him being close. I can see from the corner of my eye that someone is coming over to us. I lift my head and see my mother-in-law.

"Hey, Evelyn" I say.

"Having fun, mom?" Tobias asks.

"I do actually. This party is great and your friends are very welcoming and nice" she tells us. "Beatrice, there is something I have for you" she says and I look at her curious. "Many of my people are very impressed by you and very grateful for what you did for them. They asked me to deliver something to you." She hands me a thick envelope and I look at what is inside. I find a book and open it. It's a registration book from the City Hall no doubt. There are births and deaths recorded in it. It's just from one year, but still. It's part of our history.

"Evelyn, where did they get this?" I ask looking at the book incredulous.

"City Hall. The old one, before the war" she answers.

"What is it?" Tobias asks curious. I shift so that he can get a peek too.

"Recordings of births and deaths in the year 2015. See?" I ask and he looks over the numbers.

"I remembered how much you want to explore the city further and uncover lost things from the past. You even mentioned it to a few of the factionless and those who like you organized into groups and went exploring. They found a lot more, but I figured you won't take the other books with you on your honeymoon" she says smiling.

"Books? There are more?" I ask surprised.

"Yes. They found several books in the City Hall and the museum. I asked your friend Dwayne, who is in charge of security, to let me put them in your office, since I knew you wouldn't return there until you came back."

"Wow, Evelyn, thank you" I say.

"It's not from me, it's from the people you helped. It would be my pleasure to have you for lunch sometime after you come back from your honeymoon and I can arrange a meeting with them" she says.

"That would be wonderful. Thank you. But could you tell them that I thank them for their gift and kindness?"

"Of course."

After that we only talked about simple things, mainly about how cute Tobias was as a baby, which makes him blush for a change. Soon the caterer brings a beautiful wedding cake out. There are four layers of chocolate cake with two kinds of frosting. Two dark chocolate and two white chocolate, everything ornamented with black and white marzipan flowers. Tobias and I get up and stand in front of it. The photographer who took plenty of pictures commemorating this day for us takes a few pictures and then we cut it together. I put the first slice on a plate and hold it between Tobias and me. We take two forks and feed each other a little bit of cake. Our guests applaud and we cut a few more slices handing them to a few of our guests before one of the waiters takes over for us so that we can enjoy it. We take a plate with two slices and feed each other the whole thing. We laugh and smile at each other and kiss and giggle and just enjoy this special moment.

We stay for another two hours before fatigue just takes over and I feel myself falling asleep. Tobias puts his arm around me and kisses my temple.

"Wanna get out of here?" he asks. I nod.

We say goodbye to our guests, everyone hugging and congratulating us and then we finally make it to our car. Tobias opens the door and I get in. He immediately follows and gets into the driver's seat. We wave goodbye and drive off.

I have no idea what Tobias has planned, but since I recognize the road he took I know that we are driving toward Amity. I knew his honeymoon surprise had something to do with Amity. I caught him a few times talking to Johanna over the past months, so it has to mean something.

"Mind telling me where you are taking me?" I ask and I can see him smirk.

"You'll find out soon, my love" he says.

"Come on. I know we are driving to Amity. I know the way" I say.

"You've got that right, but I won't tell you anything more. You will see when we get there" he says and I know there's no chance he will give anything up. He can be so stubborn sometimes. I chuckle to myself and lean my head on his shoulder. The steady movement of the car lulls me to sleep and I soon drift off, dreaming of my beautiful wedding and how happy I am. I don't even register when we stop at the gate and the Amity let us pass. I only wake up when Tobias shakes me lightly and tells me that we arrived at our destination.

I open my eyes and blink a few times to fully wake up. I look at Tobias and he smiles at me. I lean in and kiss him, like I always do when I wake up and he is there and only then realize that we've reached our destination. I look outside but it's too dark to see anything. I turn around to look out my window and see a beautiful wooden cabin. My eyes widen and suddenly I'm wide awake. I get out of the car, followed by Tobias who walks around the car and puts his right arm around my waist.

"Do you like it?" he asks smiling.

"Like? Tobias, it's beautiful. But how?" I ask.

"Remember when you were sick" he asks and I nod. "I had to come to a meeting here in your place and Johanna and I talked about various things. At some point she mentioned the pond and an old abandoned cabin. After I proposed to you I kept thinking where to take you on our honeymoon. It's not like we have many options, but then I remembered this. I called Johanna and set up a meeting. Many of the Amity who like you were thrilled to hear that we are getting married and offered to help fixing this place. This cabin will be used for occasions like this one and if this becomes a regular thing the council thought of building a few more cabins. But that's not our concern now. Allow me Mrs. Eaton" he says pulling out a key and opening the door. He then returns and scoops me up in his arms, one arm behind my back and the other under my knees, he carries me inside kissing my lips softly. It's dark and I can't see a thing, but I don't mind. I love his lips on mine and I start to forget everything else around me. He puts me down and turns on the light. The cabin is wonderfully decorated, very Amity like and friendly. He lets me explore it a little on my own while he retrieves our luggage from our car. He returns almost immediately and closes and locks the door behind him. We both look around and I can see a small kitchenette, a living room area, a dining table at the far end, a fireplace and a small bathroom. We walk up the stairs and find two bedrooms and a large bathroom with bathtub. The smaller bedroom has two single beds and the master bedroom has access to a balcony. I open the door to the balcony and I can see the pond and tiny lights sparkling, the reflections of the stars above. I'm speechless. I couldn't have asked for a better setting than this one. Tobias outdid himself.

"This is so amazing. You are so amazing" I say and launch myself at him. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down for a passionate kiss. "Thank you so much, honey" I say and a tear runs down my cheek.

"No need to thank me, love. I so hoped you would like it. I sure do. They did a great job" he says looking around. "The kitchen is stocked and we have everything we need. If there is need for something I can always call Johanna and she will send someone to us. But other than that it's just you and me, baby" he says pulling me even closer and kissing me again. When we part he places a soft kiss on my nose and tells me he will get our luggage from downstairs.

I let him leave and look around some more. Everything looks so beautiful that I'm actually afraid to touch it. I walk back out on the balcony and admire the scenery. I could get used to this view. I know we just got here, but we need to come back sometime in the future. Maybe even with our children. I absentmindedly put my hand over my flat tummy and wonder if it will happen soon. I know Addison told me it might take a while until my body recovers from the birth control shot, but I hope it will happen soon. I'm so ready for this. I'm so lost in my own little world that I don't even register when Tobias returns. He wraps his arms around me and I jump up a little.

"I'm sorry" I say.

"Don't worry. Where were you anyway?" he asks with a chuckle while kissing my neck.

"Just thinking of this place. Tobias?"

"Huh?"

"Promise we will come back in the future" I say.

"Of course, it's a great place. Maybe we could even come back with our kids" he says and I can feel on my skin the smile that is forming on his face.

"I was thinking just the same. I wonder when it will happen" I say and look out over the water. The soft breeze unravels the surface and the tiny lights from the stars seem to melt into one another.

He continues kissing my neck and I feel my knees go weak. I wrap my arm around his neck trying to keep myself up. He pulls me closer to him and I can feel the bulge in his pants. He is just as excited as I am. I turn in his arms and his lips crash over mine. We melt into each other and kiss passionately for a long while. He picks me up and carries me to the bed where he lays me down gently. He covers my body with his without crushing me. He holds himself up on one arm while caressing me with his free hand. He bends down and kisses me again hungrily and I moan into his mouth. I hold his face in my palms and keep him there, not allowing him to break our kiss. His hand travels up and down my body and I'm overly excited. I let my hands glide down from his face and onto his shoulders I try to get rid of his tux jacket but the position we are currently in doesn't allow us to. He gets up and pulls me with him. We both stand at the foot of the bed and stare at each other, huge smiles on each of our faces. I help him discard his jacket and he gently turns me around and unzips my dress. He kisses every inch of exposed skin on my back and lets the dress fall to the floor leaving me standing only in my white bridal lingerie. I turn again to face him and he grins widely.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" he asks and I blush deeply. "My beautiful blushing bride" he says and caresses my cheek. I reach out and start unbuttoning his shirt. When I'm done I let it fall off of his shoulders leaving him in only his trousers. I unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants. He gets rid of shoes, socks and pants standing before me in a pair of black boxer briefs that restrain his engorged manhood.

"You aren't that bad either" I reply and he lets out a hearty laugh. His expression changes quickly, his playful eyes turning a dark shade of blue, filled with desire. He once again captures my lips. Our lips move in sync. Our breathing becomes erratic. Our hands roam each other's body, trying to be everywhere at once.

"You are so beautiful. I love you so much" he says to me in between kisses.

"I love you too" I manage to say when he starts sucking on my pulse point. By now the small flame that ignited on the balcony turned into a blazing fire that threatens to consume me if I don't do something about it.

Our lips connect again and our tongues fight for dominance until we both surrender to the other. Our kisses are more passionate and hungrier than ever. We made love many times before, but this time it's different. This time is like the first. It's the first time we make love as husband and wife.

He lays me back down on the bed, ever careful not to hurt me. He explores my body like so many times before and yet it feels as exciting as the very first time. He trails open-mouthed kisses along my neck and to my collarbone, where he kisses each of my ravens. He travels down to the mounds he so enjoys playing with and kisses them. He expertly unhooks my bra and uncovers my breasts, throwing the concealing undergarment next to the pile of clothes on the floor. He sucks gently my right breast, while kneading my left. He pays special attention to my nipple, sucking and nibbling gently the hardened bud, making me arch my back toward his wonderful mouth. He pinches my left nipple and I almost come undone from just this action. I breathe heavily and I can barely see through the fog of desire that is clouding my sight. Tobias changes breasts sucking and nibbling on the left, while kneading my right. He takes his time before he continues south licking his way down. The fresh evening breeze makes me shudder where it hits the wet skin. He reaches the hem of my white lace thong and pulls it down agonizingly slowly. He knows he is driving me crazy with this and he seems to enjoy it even more. While pulling the undergarment down my legs he places kisses on each thigh and leg until he reaches my feet. He throws away the lacey piece of clothing and sucks my toes. He travels back up kissing almost the exact same spots as on his way down. He finally reaches my heated core and pushes gently my knees apart, exposing me to him. He grins widely when he looks down on me. He kneels down at the foot of the bed and pulls me closer to the edge. He kisses the insides of my thighs and licks gently the sensitive skin.

"Please" I beg.

He thrusts his tongue out of his mouth and licks my slit making me throw my head back in anticipation.

"You taste delicious" he says and nibbles at my bundle of nerves eliciting a guttural moan from me. I grab the bed sheets and close my eyes. He licks my clit while thrusting two fingers inside my wet womanhood. He pumps in and out of me at a slow pace while constantly stimulating me with his tongue. When he adds a third finger, stretching me even wider, I come undone. He increases the speed while I'm still riding out one orgasm when the second one overwhelms me and I cry out his name. If anyone passed this cabin right now they would think I'm being murdered. But this would be the sweetest death anyone could have. Tobias is still thrusting in and out of me when I beg him to stop, I'm no longer able to endure this. He retracts his fingers and kisses my womanhood, before climbing up and settling between my parted legs. He bends down and kisses me passionately and I can taste my cum on his tongue.

"You are still dressed" I say and he smiles. "We need to fix that right away" I say and flip us over. He smiles up at me and I can't help but find him adorable in this moment. I kiss his lips, then his cheeks, his nose, his throat, I lick along his collarbone and place open-mouthed kisses on his muscular chest. While I kiss him he roams my body with his large hands. I suck his erect nipple and scratch him lightly over the chest. When I'm done I pay the same attention to the other nipple. I travel down his Adonis-like body kissing and licking him until I finally reach his impressive manhood, still hidden underneath the black fabric of his briefs. I slowly pull them down while watching him. He looks at me, his pupils dilated and his expression almost predatory. I grin at him and pull the briefs down completely, discarding them on the floor. I settle between his legs and envelope his length with my right hand, pumping slowly. He closes his eyes and I ever so slightly increase the pace. I lick my lips before taking him into my mouth as much as possible. I suck him lightly before releasing him. I lick around the tip and use my hand to play with his balls. He throws his head back and I grin to myself. I take him back into my mouth and start a slow, leisurely pace. I bob my head up and down and make up for what I can take into my mouth with my hand. After a short while I feel his hand in my hair pushing me lightly and I know that he is close. I increase my speed again sucking him harder and I hear him groan. I concentrate on my task and place my left hand over his rock hard abs scratching the heated flesh. He pushes my head even more and I start gagging. I bob my head faster over his length and he suddenly spills himself deep into my mouth. I swallow his cum eagerly and release his cock from my grip and mouth. I clean the few drops of cum landed on my face with my index finger and lick it off.

"If you do that I'll get hard again" he says breathless.

"Maybe that's what I was going for" I say seductively.

"Is that so, Mrs. Eaton?" he asks propping himself up on his elbows and grinning at me. I lay down on him and he wraps his arms around my small body.

"Yeah, I always want you" I say and feel the heat in my cheeks.

"That's good, because I always want you" he says rubbing my back.

"Honey?"

"Yes?"

"Would you be very upset if we take a nap, before we continue this?" I ask unsure. I want to make love to him. Many, many times. But this whole day just drained me of energy.

"Of course not. I'm exhausted too" he says and places a soft kiss to my head. "We should go under the blanket. I don't want you to run around here sick" he says jokingly.

"I'm not the only who gets sick" I say propping myself up so that I can see him properly.

"Come on, babe. I'm less prone to get sick than you" he says, trying to put on a serious face, but fails.

"'Cause you are a man?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"'Cause I'm Four, Dauntless legend" he says proudly. I straddle his hips and practically sit on his cock, looking at him as if he has lost his mind.

"Are you kidding me right now? I might have gotten sick one more time than you, but I didn't whine the whole time. Remember this, oh Dauntless legend, Tris, I feel sick. Tris, can I have an extra blanket. Tris, my soup is too hot. Tris, my tea is too cold. Tris, I think I have to pee" I say, remembering when he was sick. He sits up and holds my back so that I don't fall backwards.

"I never said I think I have to pee" he says looking at me skeptically.

"You did. The first night, when your fever was at its highest. I took your hand and helped you into the bathroom. I left you there and when you didn't answer I entered. You fell asleep on the toilet, with your head rested on the sink. If it wouldn't have been to cold in there I would've left you in that position. I shook you awake and somehow we managed to go back to bed without you falling over" I tell him.

"You never told me that" he says surprised.

"Well, it doesn't matter. You were sick and I was happy I could help you, even a little."

"Sounds more than just a little" he says chuckling. "Thank you."

"Any time. Wanna put on some PJ's or shall we sleep like this?" I ask.

"Are you nuts?" he asks seriously.

"Uh, no" I say confused by his reaction.

"We'll spend this week naked and only put on clothes if we absolutely have to. Like going out to explore Amity, but other than that I'll remain just like God made me" he says smirking.

"Gorgeous?" I ask.

"You are the one who's gorgeous" he replies kissing me gently.

"Alright. Let's get under the covers." We finally settle for the night and snuggle together. We remember the best moments of our wedding day and exchange a few more kisses.

"I love you" he says to me.

"I love you too" I reply smiling.

"Good night, Mrs. Eaton" he says proudly.

"Good night, Mr. Eaton."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: How did you like this one?
> 
> In case you are disappointed for the lack of extra hot honeymoon fluff this was only part 1. Part 2 will come shortly.
> 
> Don't forget to check out my Pinterest board for this story. Link in my profile.
> 
> Also, tomorrow I'll post a drabble in Moments we share.
> 
> And I've written a one-shot named How I met your mother, in which Tobias tells his kids (yeah plural) how he met Tris. I don't know exactly when I'll post this, but follow me as an author and you'll get notified.
> 
> Hope to hear from you guys.
> 
> Till Thursday (hopefully :P)


	65. Chapter 65

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I will update every two days, since I haven't written to far ahead. If you have questions or suggestions either write a review or PM me. Also, this story is connected to one-shots and drabbles. Follow me as a writer and you'll get all the goodies.
> 
> lots of fluff and smut in this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

65

I wake in the middle of the night and blink a few times to wake myself up. I look around and realize I am not at home. I remember the events that lead to this moment here and smile. I'm married. I'm finally married to the man I love. I'm Mrs. Eaton.

I feel Tobias's strong arms around my small frame and snuggle closer together. He stirs and groans a little before placing a soft kiss on the back of my head.

"Is it morning yet?" he asks, sleep thick in his voice.

"It's still dark outside, but I guess it's almost six a.m." I say and turn around in his arms. When our eyes lock we smile at each other.

"Good morning, my beautiful wife" he says and I smile even wider.

"Good morning, my handsome husband" I reply before we kiss softly.

"You hungry?" he asks, while running his large hand up and down my back under the blanket. I shake my head.

"You?" I ask.

"Starving" he says and I move to get out but he pulls me back and pins me down. "Where are you going?" he asks.

"The kitchen to make you something to eat" I say confused.

"I don't want food" he says grinning. "I want to eat you" he says and crashes his lips over mine. Oh, now I get it.

We kiss for a long while, pressing our naked bodies together, occupying the same space at the same time. Tobias licks my bottom lip and I open my mouth for him. We let our tongues dance with each other, while our hands touch every available inch of the other's body.

Our kisses become more hungry and passionate by the minute until the heat becomes unbearable and Tobias throws the blanket to the ground. He covers me with his body, kissing my neck, my collarbone, he sucks lightly on my pulse point but enough to leave a mark. He loves doing that. As if the whole city wouldn't know by now that I'm Four's. Nevertheless, he likes doing it and I let him. After all he is right. I am his and he is mine and it has been like this for a long time.

He travels down toward my breasts and starts sucking on my right, while kneading the left. He bites lightly on my hardened bud and I arch my back. I feel him smirk, but I can't form any words. The things he makes me feel are too intense. I love how my body responds to him, to every touch, to every kiss. He changes breasts and I throw my head back and moan loudly his name.

He abandons my breasts and travels downward to my already soaking wet core. He settles between my legs and smiles when he sees that I'm already ready for him.

"Tobias, I need you" I plead with him, but he shakes his head.

"I told you, baby, I'm starving and I want to eat you" he says grinning lewdly. He bends down and breathes in the scent of my arousal. "You smell delicious" he says and licks my folds upward. He lets his tongue flick over my womanhood several times before thrusting it inside, sucking my sensitive bundle of nerves every once in a while. I start writhing underneath him while he expertly helps me reach the peak of an invisible summit. He retracts his tongue and replaces it with two fingers, that are pumping rapid and hard and I come loudly screaming out his name. He retrieves his fingers and kneels before me. My vision is still clouded by the aftermath of the incredible orgasm I just had when I feel the tip of his cock slowly entering my folds. He is teasing me, knowing full well how sensitive I am just after climaxing. I make a whining noise and Tobias laughs lightly before impaling me with his rock hard length. We both cry out at the intimate connection and Tobias remains still for a while. He bends down and kisses me passionately with new found fervor. I love kissing him but right now I just want him to fuck me hard. I flip us over, making sure that he is still inside me when he lands on his back and me straddling his hips. I start riding him like a mad woman and he reaches up and cups my breasts. While I force myself down his shaft he pushes his hips upward, meeting each of my thrusts with his own, all the while kneading my breasts.

"Oh God, Tobias, I'm gonna come" I say breathless, riding him like there's no tomorrow.

"Come for me, baby" he says and slaps my ass. He knows I like it sometimes, especially when we do it wild and loud, but he never hits me hard as to hurt me. As if I could feel anything in these moments other than the incredible passion that is coursing through my body. I slam my hips down repeatedly and feel my second orgasm approaching. Tobias lets go of my boobs and grabs my hips pulling me down on his shaft while pushing his own upwards. We slam into each other a few more times before we both fall over the edge and cry out each other's name. Tobias falls backwards on the bed and I collapse on top of him, both of us panting heavily and covered in sweat.

"I don't know about you" I start saying "but I just worked up an appetite" I finish saying and he laughs.

"Well, after such an intense workout, my love, I'm starving too. For food" he adds and we both laugh. We lay like this for a few more minutes before we get up and put on some clothes. I take out my black silk robe and put it on, as well as a pair of fluffy wool socks while Tobias only puts on his boxer briefs. We go downstairs and turn on the light in the kitchen. I look into the fridge and think of what to make for my wonderful husband. Husband. This still sounds surreal to me.

"Honey, what sounds good?" I ask, trying to figure out what to eat.

"You" he answers and envelopes me in a tight embrace.

"I'm serious" I say with a chuckle.

"So am I" he says kissing my neck.

"Tobias, come on. I'm hungry" I say, but can't make myself to be upset with him. Everything is just wonderful. He is wonderful.

"Alright. How about I make you something?" he asks and I shake my head. "How about then we make breakfast together?" I nod this time.

We finally decide to make some blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs with bacon. While I finish the pancakes Tobias makes a pot of coffee and pours each of us a glass of orange juice.

We take a seat at the dining table and dig in our hearty breakfast. We make small talk, remembering the wedding, the hilarious speeches from our friends who all wished us the very best, how both our mothers hinted that they wouldn't mind babysitting sometime next year, which made us both blush deeply. However, we kept it from them that we already started trying to get pregnant and I honestly hope it'll be soon. Fingers crossed.

After we are done we clean up, I wash the dishes and he uses a towel to dry them and put them away. We are done in no time and I walk upstairs into the master bedroom. I open the balcony door to let fresh air in and gather my toiletries. I set up everything I need in the bathroom and brush my teeth. I look myself in the mirror and decide that it's about time to take a shower. I find several white cotton towels on a shelf behind me and two bathrobes hanging on the bathroom door. I open the door a little calling for Tobias. He immediately comes over and smiles brightly.

"I'm gonna take a shower" I say and he nods. He doesn't get it and I chuckle. "You are welcome to join" I say with a mischievous grin on my face. He hurries inside and gets rid of his briefs and pushes the silk robe off of my shoulders. He turns on the water and allows it to warm up a little while brushing his teeth in a hurry.

We spend almost an hour in the shower making love or just stay under the warm spray of water kissing and telling sweet nothings to the other. When we decide we soaked enough we get out and put on the bathrobes.

When we enter the bedroom my breath is taken away by the sight before me. The sun is rising over the pond and now that the area is illuminated I can see how absolutely breathtaking it really is here.

"It's beautiful" I say in awe.

"It is. I had no clue it would be this beautiful" he says surprised.

"This is wonderful. Thank you for thinking of this place and making all this happen" I say and turn around to kiss him. He crashes his lips over mine and immediately pushes his tongue inside. We explore each other's mouth thoroughly and Tobias presses himself closer to me. I wrap my arms around him and let myself melt into him.

I can feel his hard-on pressing through the thick fabric of his robe, which is saying something. I retrieve one arm from around his neck and let my hand travel down his front. I push my hand inside and grab his cock in my hand, stroking it a few times. Tobias lets out a deep growl and I know he is really turned on right now. We break the kiss and he looks at me intensely. His eyes are almost black with lust and I smile at him. I undo his robe revealing his impressive manhood. I look around to see if we are alone, which thankfully we are. It seems we are far away from the Amity compound and therefore undisturbed. I turn around to look at Tobias who is grinning widely. I lick my lips and his expression changes from slightly amused to predatory. But before he can act on it I kneel down in front of him and lick him from base to tip. I look up at him to see his expression, before opening my mouth and taking him in as much as I can. I start sucking lightly, flicking my tongue over his head, only to release him a moment later and suck on his balls. He growls loudly and I can't help the smirk that's appearing on my face. This is absolutely one of my favorite things to do, I love how I can pleasure him with just my mouth. I return to my favorite play pal and take him back into my mouth. I start bobbing my head up and down his length while stroking what remained outside with my right hand. I lean against the balcony railing to support me while using my left hand to finger myself. I have done this a few times while pleasuring him orally, the sight of him turning me on, leaving me hot, bothered and wet in seconds. I increase my speed and I can feel him getting bigger in my mouth. Before he comes however he retracts his cock and I look up at him with a slight pout. He helps me up and presses me against the railing kissing me hard and primal. He unties my robe and inserts two fingers into my soaking wet pussy, checking if I'm ready.

"Hm, so wet" he says in a deep husky voice. "Tris, I wanna fuck you" he says and I only nod. "You trust me?"

"With my heart and life" I answer immediately.

He pushes the robe off my shoulders and lets it hang over the railing. He turns me around and I bend a little over, lifting my ass a little. He runs his cock over my wet folds before plunging inside me with one powerful thrust that takes me a little by surprise and I cry out in pleasure. He stops, buried deep inside me and bites down gently on my shoulder.

"Did I hurt you?" he asks, a little concerned.

"No. Just fuck me already" I growl.

He obliges and starts a slow, steady in and out pace, before quickening ever so slightly. I grab the railing tightly and close my eyes, allowing this wonderful sensation to take over me. He increases his speed some more, pounding me hard, but I couldn't care less. I love it that even when we are fucking our brains out it's still love. Tobias reaches his right hand down and starts stimulating my clit and I feel yet another earth-shattering orgasm approach me. His left hand is currently kneading my left boob and he is sucking my right earlobe while slamming into me at such a rapid pace that I swear we are about the break the sound barrier. When he whispers in my ear "Come for me, baby" I come hard and scream out his name at the top of my lungs, not caring if anyone might hear us. I actually think the whole city might have heard me, but I don't mind. This wonderful god-like man makes one very happy and sated woman out of me and I'm lucky to have him as my husband. I'm still coming down from my high when I feel him tense behind me and release his life-giving seed deep inside me. He calls out my name and slumps into me, pushing me a little forward. My boobs are hanging now exposed over the balcony, but no one's here, so I don't mind.

My knees feel weak and I'm glad his right arm is around my waist now, holding me close to him. We both breathe heavily and try to regain our senses after such an intense climax. His left hand rests on the railing next to mine and I entwine our fingers. He kisses the back of my neck and whispers a sweet "I love you" into my ear, which I reciprocate immediately. We finally manage to drag our exhausted bodies back into the bedroom and lie down on the cool bed sheets. Tobias lies on his back, his legs parted, and I snuggle into his side. He puts his left arm around me and kisses my forehead, before capturing my lips for a quick, chaste kiss.

"That was awesome" he says. "But you are alright, right?" he asks a little unsure.

"I'm better than alright. I'm the luckiest girl in the world" I say smiling up at him and he smiles back.

"I didn't hurt you?" he asks.

"Of course not, honey. We have our safe word" I say reassuringly and he finally sighs in relief. "Why would you think you hurt me?"

"I was rough. I just couldn't help it. You look so damn sexy when you suck my dick. It's a huge turn on and I just couldn't hold back anymore."

"Well, I love doing that. And I loved what you did to me afterwards. In fact, you can do that again. And again. And again" I say grinning.

"Really?" he asks with a mischievous grin plastered on his handsome face.

"Mhmm" I answer and he kisses me on the lips.

"This place is great" he says after a while of just looking up at the ceiling and smiling goofily. "We should go for a swim later."

"Yeah, but I don't have any bathing suit with me" I say and prop myself up on my elbow.

"You don't need one. We are here all alone. It takes an hour to get from here to the closest Amity building" he says and I look at him surprised.

"I wasn't aware we are so far out" I say surprised.

"Yeah, but it's beautiful and quiet here. We have this place all to ourselves and can be as loud as we want" he says smirking, hinting that we will have hopefully many repeats of our morning activities here.

We lie there for an hour or two, I can't really tell. We aren't tired or sleepy, but we just enjoy our somewhat lazy morning. We talk a little or just breathe in the other's scent. At some point I realize we should head downstairs and start lunch. We get up and I go into the bathroom where I take a quick shower and return about five minutes later, completely naked. I pull out a black thong, black shorts that are so short that they barely cover my butt, Christina insisted that since Tobias and I are on our honeymoon he has all the right to enjoy the goodies. I think of putting on a bra, but since we are not going anywhere and it seems that the weather outside promises a hot summer day I decide against it and put on a dark brown tank top.

Tobias also went to take a shower and returns already dressed. He put on some black shorts and a black tank top. He offers me his hand and we go downstairs where we decide we will make ourselves some pizza for lunch. Thanks to his help the pizza is in the oven half an hour later and somehow he convinced me to make him chocolate chip muffins. He helps me of course, which translates in him eating some of the batter. I scold him, but he gives me his puppy dog eyes and I just melt away. I obviously forgive him and prepare everything. While he sets the table, after taking the pizza out of the oven, I look around the kitchen and find all I need to make him some chocolate pudding. I make sure he doesn't see me and put it out of his sight until it's cooled down ready to be eaten.

We sit down and eat talking leisurely about everything that comes to mind. We decide to go out with our friends after we return either to the bowling alley or the pool or even the club. But first we need to make sure the initiates are doing all right. We have complete faith in Lauren, Uriah, Christina and Dwayne, but as leaders it's our job to check everything. After we are done with our meal I take the muffins out of the oven, which are in thee since we sat down and put them on a large plate to cool down. I check the pudding and decide it cooled down enough to be put in the fridge. I wonder for a moment if I should give him some, but decide against it. I'll surprise him later in the afternoon with it. We go upstairs to brush our teeth and get two big towels. We decided to go for a swim after all.

We place the two towels next to each other and undress from the few clothing items we have on. Tobias kisses my lips softly before picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder and running with me into the water. I giggle the whole time and pretend that I want to escape him. He finally puts me down and I'm surprised at how warm the water is. We kiss softly, holding each other close.

"This is great" I say. "Come on, let's swim." We swim around for a while chasing each other, splashing water around, diving, kissing, hugging, laughing… simply enjoying our time alone from all the problems we have or will have. Neither one of us is naïve. We know that there's a long ahead of us with ups and downs, with problems, but also with satisfactions. To be honest, if it weren't for him to stand by my side all this would sound terrifying. But thankfully I have him. My partner. My best friend. My lover. My husband. My everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope you enjoyed day 1 of their honeymoon. Chapter 66 is still about the honeymoon, although I'm not done yet.
> 
> I also have a few ideas for Moments we share. It's somewhat connected to this story. If you haven't read the drabble series so far I encourage you to do.
> 
> Till Monday (hopefully!)


	66. Chapter 66

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The honeymoon continues...
> 
> Thanks to all my readers for your constant support. I love you all!

66

Tobias and I spend the better part of the afternoon swimming and having fun in the pond behind the wooden cabin. On occasion we just lie down, completely naked, on the two towels we brought out with us and allow the sun to dry us. Usually I would freak out about exposing myself like this. But we are completely alone here and there's no other human around.

Tobias plays with my hair looking up into the sky deep in thought. I look at him and wonder what he is thinking. My curiosity wins and I push myself toward him and kiss his jaw. He smiles and looks my way.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask.

"Nothing in particular. I was thinking how peaceful everything is here and that I would gladly spend the rest of my life here with you" he says looking deep into my eyes.

"I know what you mean" I say caressing his cheek.

"I wish we could have this peace and quiet at home too" he says sighing and looking back up into the sky.

"You mean to say it's too loud at home? 'Cause if I recall right you were the one who insisted that I can be as loud as I want" hinting at what he once told me after we made love. He told me he loved that even though I wasn't exaggerating with my loud moans he loved how I just couldn't contain them when the pleasure became too much. He loves when I cry out his name, making him feel fulfilled. He turns to look at me with a wide grin.

"Oh, you can be as loud as you want, baby" he says kissing my lips, but when he pulls back his expression is a little serious. "But you know what I mean. The constant struggle, the uncertainty of tomorrow" he says and runs his left index finger over my cheek.

"This is one of the reasons I'm working so hard to change things around town. Thankfully more people see what I'm trying to do and aren't afraid of the change. But we need to keep a slow, yet steady pace. We can't just go and force things to change. It needs to happen smoothly and in time. This won't be over in our lifetime or that of our children. Maybe not even our grandchildren. But it will happen" I say sure. He looks at me smiling placing his left hand over my flat stomach.

"I wonder if it already happened" he says looking at where his hand lies.

"Me too. But Addison told me it might take a while and not freak out about it" I tell him. He is as eager as I am to make this happen. I know that many people think us getting married so young and wanting a baby is irrational, but we love each other and we belong together. It doesn't matter if we knew each other for years before getting married and having a baby or for a few months. I know I love this man and he loves me and we will spend the rest of our lives together. And Tobias is right. Life is uncertain and unpredictable. We have to enjoy it while we can and to the fullest. We'll never know how much time we have, although I hope many, many years from here on. I don't care if people think that we made the right decision, we know and love each other and this is right for us. Whoever thinks otherwise can keep it to themselves.

"Well, then we should keep practicing Mrs. Eaton, because our mothers are both eager to by grannies" he says and I start laughing.

"You are nuts, honey" I say and he kisses me passionately. He starts running his hand up and down my body until it finally settles over my left breast kneading it lovingly. I can feel him getting hard and my body starts reacting to his ministrations. I can feel myself getting wet, when I actually start getting wet from something else. He must have felt it too, because he breaks our kiss and looks up. A few rain drops hit us and we realize a thunder storm is about to hit the area. We quickly get up and Tobias gets both towels and I gather our clothes and we run inside just in time before the rain starts pouring down on us.

"Rain check?" he asks. "Pun intended."

"Yeah, rain check" I say laughing. "We should put some clothes on before we get sick." We go upstairs and put on some clothes and leave the towels in the bathroom. Tobias is ready before me and tells me he will be waiting downstairs for me when I'm ready. I decide to put our clothes away in the dresser and store the luggage bags in the closet and clean up the bedroom a little. I close the balcony door, trying to avoid the room temperature to drop. When I'm done I walk downstairs and look for Tobias. To my surprise he sits in front of the fireplace, watching the fire dance. "You made a fire" I say.

"Don't sound so surprised" he says chuckling. "I figured with the rain it might get cold in here and I don't want my beautiful wife to get sick" he says smirking.

"Aw, aren't you the perfect husband" I say and even though it sounded teasingly I meant it.

"C'mere" he says and I sit in his lap. He kisses my neck and then my cheek, before I turn so that our lips meet in a loving kiss. The loud thunder startles me and I jump up. "Don't be afraid. I'll protect you" he says serious.

"I'm not afraid, it just startled me" I say and pout a little. He immediately smiles and kisses my pout away.

"I know you are strong and brave, but I still feel that it is my job to protect you. Scratch that, I want to protect you. You are the most important thing to me and I would be lost without you" he says sincerely and my heart swells.

"I know, baby. And even though I'm capable of defending myself, I love that you are protective of me, even if you exaggerate sometimes" I say with a chuckle. "I know that I can let myself fall and you will always catch me. I love how I feel when I'm in your arms, protected, safe, loved and cherished. I love you, Tobias."

"I love you too, Tris" he softly says and kisses me slowly at first, but then the kiss deepens and becomes more demanding and hungry.

Tobias lays me down on the fluffy white carpet in front of the fire place and covers me with his body. He kisses my lips, my cheeks, my neck and travels down to my collarbone where my ravens are, lingering on his. He sucks on my pulse point and I turn my head to give him better access when my stomach growls loudly.

"Sounds like someone's hungry" he says with a chuckle against my skin. "Come on, let's eat something" he says and props himself up on his elbow. However, he doesn't move away, he just stares at me.

"What?" I ask unsure of his reaction.

"You look so beautiful" he says and I blush. He smiles when he sees that and bends down to capture my lips in a soft, loving kiss. "I'm really lucky to have you as my wife, you know that?"

"I'm lucky to have you as my husband" I say caressing his cheek and he leans into my touch. Just then I remember the pudding. But I also know if I would tell him now of it he would skip supper and eat all the pudding. "What do you want to eat?" I ask him.

"Nope. I make you supper" he says.

"No way. You helped me with lunch, I help you with supper" I say stubbornly and he smiles.

"Alright. I thought of making some hot dogs. I know it's nothing fancy, but I haven't had some in a while" he says and rubs the back of his neck embarrassed.

"It's fine, honey. I would love some. Do we have ketchup and mustard?" I ask and walk into the kitchen and check the cupboards. When I find what I was looking for I put the two bottles on the dining table and join Tobias in the kitchen. Thankfully it doesn't take long and we sit together and enjoy our meal chatting about how fun it would be to come back here every year for our anniversary. We clean up and while Tobias is upstairs to brush his teeth I take out the pudding and leave it on the table. I then go upstairs, brush my own teeth and while I rinse my mouth I hear him yell.

"You made pudding for me" he yells from downstairs. I smile to myself and finish in the bathroom. By the time I get downstairs he has already devoured some of it. "Babe, this is delicious. I love you so much" he says and eats more of it.

"Tobias, not so fast. You will get a stomach ache" I scold. Geez, sometimes he is like a little child. And I thought Uriah was crazy when it came to dessert.

"It's just too delicious" he says, his mouth full. "There more?" he asks and I nod smiling. I go over to the fridge and retrieve a second bowl. Thankfully I was inspired to make twice as much as usual. At least this way I can hope to eat some. I give him the second bowl and take the empty one to the sink were I wash it.

After he eats his second bowl of pudding he suggests that we just sit for a while in front of the fireplace and relax, which I don't mind. It's been a very active day so far and a nice quiet evening is rather appealing.

We sit on the fluffy carpet, Tobias leans against one of the two armchairs and I lean my back on his chest. He envelops us in the warm comforter and we listen to the steady rain outside.

"Honey?" I ask after a while.

"Yes?"

"Can we talk about something serious, work related or actually not so much work, but mystery around certain things" I say vaguely.

"Hm, okay" he says, probably wondering what I want.

"There are several things on my mind. Things we both have neglected over these past few months."

"What's on your mind, honey?" he asks paying close attention now.

"The point theft for starters. We still haven't figured out who is behind it and more importantly how it is done. I know we left Myra's father in charge, but I haven't heard anything from him. Did Walsh mention anything?" I ask.

"No. And there has been nothing stolen since we discovered it" he says.

"We need to find out who is behind it and how they are doing it. And why."

"Well the why question is simple. To have money" he says.

"I guess that would make sense. But if it was someone within the compound that someone would have had a job. Didn't Walsh find anyone with more points in their account than should have been there?" I ask hopeful, although I know the answer.

"Unfortunately, no. But it must have been a transfer from Erudite" he says and I turn to look at him.

"Why do you say that?"

"Think about it. Would anyone in Dauntless know how to operate a computer, I mean manipulate point accounts, stealing points from others? I'm not saying it's impossible, many Dauntless are very smart, not like an Erudite, but still. The reason why I think it must have been an Erudite transfer is Eric" he says.

"Eric? Why him?" I ask confused.

"When Max first talked about a leadership position, right after my initiation both Eric and I were invited as interns, to be trained. One of the tasks was to master computer programs. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I mastered it quickly, quicker than the others. The only one better than me was Eric. He transferred from Erudite and knew more about computers than anyone else in that room. So it made me think. What if our mystery thief is an Erudite transfer?"

"We could check that when we get home" I say.

"I could call Walsh or Tori and ask any of them to do it" he says.

"No. We shouldn't talk about it over the phone. This needs to stay as quiet as possible" I argue.

"You are right. We can check when we get back. Although I don't know how lucky we will get. We have already checked so many files and nothing came up" he says a little defeated.

"Yes, but now we can narrow it down. It has to be an Erudite transfer. We can check for them at least two years before your initiation. Just because the theft happened a year and a half ago, doesn't mean that the culprit wasn't in Dauntless prior to that date. We can put together a list of Erudite transfers and check them out."

"It's worth a try. But it is still baffling that there haven't been any new reports. Do you think he figured out that we are on to something?"

"Maybe. If he or she, there's no telling if it's a man or a woman, would suspect something it would be possible that the thief would stop stealing, at least for the time being or look for a smarter way to deceive us. But since no one reported stolen points or Walsh found any irregularities with the Dauntless main account I suspect the theft has seized. Question is why? I don't really think it's because we figured out that it is happening. Whoever did it made sure to hide himself well."

"I agree. Maybe it's a good thing we kinda forgot about this. Maybe this way the thief thinks he or she is safe and we can continue our investigation. Maybe we should keep this between the two of us, well actually we should involve Tori as well. I trust our staff, but sometimes when too many people know a secret it stops being secret anymore."

"You're right. I'll arrange a meeting with Tori with us at home. That way it will seem like a casual get together between friends instead of a business meeting" I suggest.

"Dwayne should know too. I would feel better to know he is in this with us. And I'm sure Tori needs someone besides the two of us to talk to about these things" Tobias says and I agree. It would be awful if I would have to keep things from Tobias just because my job wouldn't allow me to tell him what's on my mind. Thankfully, that isn't the case.

"We could have them over for lunch after we get back or maybe dinner. Since they live across the hall from us it wouldn't be so unheard of. But in case we can't make it right after we get back we can always set something up for the next weekend" I say and he nods in agreement. We remain quiet for a while until I feel him tense up. "What's wrong, baby?" I ask and turn my head to look at him. He is staring toward the fire and his expression is one of both anger and fear. I lift my right hand and cup his left cheek. He leans into my touch and his expression softens. "Tell me" I insist.

"I remembered your kidnapping" he says and I shudder involuntarily at the memory. He pulls me closer and tightens his arms around me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you" he says.

"It's okay. May I ask why you even thought about it?" I ask curious.

"You said there are things that we haven't figured out yet. This is one of those things. We still don't know who this Romeo character was and what he wanted. He didn't kidnap you for ransom or anything like it. If he wanted to kill you he would've, he had plenty of opportunities. He could have even…" he says and trails of. I know what he thinks but doesn't want to say. Rape. Romeo could have raped me if he wanted. I was unconscious most of the time, he could have done it and I wouldn't even have known it until I would have been rescued. But he didn't. I'm not forgiving him, but at least he spared me from that awful experience.

"I know, baby. Don't torture yourself over something that's in the past. But to be honest we have pushed the subject out of our minds. There's no clue about him whatsoever. I discussed the topic with Evelyn a few times when you weren't there" I say and he furrows his eyebrows. "I didn't mean to cause you more pain over that, I'm sorry. Actually, scratch that. I'm not sorry. I don't want to be the cause of your pain. Anyway, she told me that she showed his picture around and no one knew him."

"Maybe he wasn't factionless for long" Tobias suggests.

"Maybe. I asked Evelyn about that possibility and she said that even so her people would have informed her about a new arrival. But no one did. And even if he was a new arrival he wasn't there for long or had help to remain hidden. Maybe he did something bad in one of the factions and was hiding with the factionless."

"Maybe. We need to solve that mystery as well. Something tells me that just because he is dead, doesn't mean the problem is gone. We always suspected that he wasn't working alone."

"Why do you say that?" I ask curious to find at how he came to this conclusion.

"The way he moved around. He knew were the cameras are and how to not draw suspicion. He must have had help."

"Do you think someone in Dauntless helped him?" I ask and turn around completely, shock all over my face. I can't believe someone from our faction would do that. Then again so many things have happened that it wouldn't surprise me.

"Maybe. After I got you back I left Dwayne in charge of that investigation, but unfortunately nothing new has arisen since your abduction. It's like all the leads died with Romeo" he says frustrated.

"We'll figure this out, honey. Let's stop stressing over this and enjoy our time together. Once we're back we can resume worrying about these things. Right now I just want to have my hubby's undivided attention" I say and straddle his lap.

"Well, if that's what my amazing wife wants then that's what she'll get" he says and crashes his lips over mine. We kiss passionately for a long time until the kiss alone is not enough. He lays me down on the fluffy carpet and covers me with his body. He allows his right hand to roam over my body, caressing me here and there, kneading my breast, teasing my folds, sucking my pulse point, nibbling my nipple, licking my clit, making love to me into the night.

For the remainder of our honeymoon Tobias and I decided to avoid conversations regarding work or anything unpleasant. On Monday we were still housebound due to the thunderstorm outside. But that never stopped us from having fun, if you know what I mean. On Tuesday we had clear weather and decided to spend it swimming and sunbathing. On Wednesday we explored the surrounding area. We went hiking and took several pictures in the meadow near the cabin as well as the green forest all around us. On Thursday we went to the Amity compound to visit Johanna and buy a few things, mostly fruits and some vegetables, as well as some dark colored summer dresses for me and some shirts for Tobias. They are perfect for when we are home and just hang around. To my surprise I literally ran into Robert Black. He was mine and Caleb's childhood friend, along with his sister Susan. He chose Amity and I haven't seen him since that one time we were at the gate last year and he spotted me. I remember Tobias telling me then that I should be more careful. Looking back I realize he was jealous.

"Beatrice" he said.

"Tris" I remind him.

"I'm sorry, I forgot. How are you? What are you doing here?" he asked smiling at me.

"I'm on my honeymoon" I told him proudly.

"Honeymoon? You got married?" he asked surprised. I then grabbed Tobias's hand and pulled him closer to me.

"Robert, this is my husband, Four" I say looking up at him, but Tobias is only mustering a forced smile toward Robert.

"Nice to meet you. Congratulations to you both. I wish you all the best" he said.

"Thank you" responded Tobias for both of us.

"So, Robert, how's it going? Everything good?" I asked.

"Wonderful. My girlfriend and I are expecting our first child together" he said proudly.

"Wow, congratulations" I said and extended my hand to shake his but he pulled me in a hug, before enveloping Tobias as well. I guess that's the Amity-way.

"Thank you. I'm so happy."

"I can see that" I told him sincerely. "What about Susan. She chose this year, right?" I asked him wondering about my childhood best friend, although thinking about my new friends in Dauntless Susan and I were more like friendly acquaintances.

"She's fine as well. She chose to stay in Abnegation" he said, a little sad. "I'm sorry. I have to go. Laila is waiting for her strawberry ice cream" he said and smiled one more time before passing us and rushing toward a beautiful chocolate colored girl in a bright yellow dress with a swollen abdomen.

I chuckle at the memory and Tobias looks my way as we drive into the city and leave Amity behind us. I feel a little sad that it's over but we promised to return at least every year for our anniversary.

On Friday we undressed and refused to get dressed again until Sunday noon when we were scheduled to leave. So that's what we did. We made love so many times that I swear I lost track of, not to mention I have some difficulty to walk straight. Tobias laughed and promised he would carry me around if necessary.

"What's wrong, honey?" he asks, intertwining our fingers.

"I'm sad our honeymoon is over, but I'm happy we are going home. The cabin was great, don't get me wrong, but I miss my home and Dauntless" I say leaning my head on his shoulder.

"I know what you mean. I've missed Dauntless too. But thankfully I had the best time of my life with my best girl. Correction, my only girl."

"Well, for now" I say and he glances my way, seemingly not understanding what I meant. "Right now, I'm your only girl."

"And that will stay like that forever" he says firmly, furrowing his eyebrows.

"But someday we might have a daughter. That means you will have two girls" I say chuckling.

"Oh" he says, finally understanding what I'm saying and smiles brightly. "Who knows, maybe something is already in the oven" he says suggestively.

"We'll see" I say and look out my window. I watch the road take us back into the city, back home. I have to admit, I can't wait for us to be a real family soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Now that they go back home, what will wait for them there?
> 
> Will they finally get the answers they are seeking?
> 
> Is Tris pregnant yet?
> 
> What will happen with the initiates?
> 
> So many questions...
> 
> I expect reviews, questions and suggestions... :)
> 
> Also, I added 3 new pictures to my Pinterest board dedicated to this fic. Check them out!


	67. Chapter 67

67

Yesterday we arrived after two p.m. back home. Tobias, who was carrying our luggage up until then, put the bags down, unlocked and opened the door and before I could step inside he lifted me in his arms and walked me over the threshold of our home.

"Welcome home, Mrs. Eaton" he said to me. I smiled and kissed him lovingly.

After we settled down I called Tori and invited her and Dwayne over for supper. I also called Christina to tell her we were back, but we wouldn't see each other until the next morning at breakfast in the cafeteria.

During our dinner date with Tori and Dwayne we explained to them what we had in mind regarding several problems we still had to solve. Both agreed to keep this between us and only meet and discuss a few particular sensitive topics here or at their home.

They soon left after we finished the work talk, allowing Tobias and me to enjoy the last few hours of our honeymoon before we would start work tomorrow morning. Tobias and I wanted to go to bed early and be as rested as possible for the week we had ahead of us, especially with the initiates, but somehow we couldn't manage to keep our hands to ourselves.

The next morning we both woke up at six a.m. and decided to take separate showers. We both know that showering together almost always means hot, steamy sex that leaves us even sweatier than when we entered.

While Tobias is showering I pick out my clothes and get dressed. I put on some comfortable dark gray pants and a black tank top and get into my combat boots when Tobias comes out, a towel around his middle. God, he looks sexy. I wish we had more time. I shake my head and walk past him into the bathroom to dry my hair while he is getting ready.

I decide to leave my engagement ring at home, since we will most likely have to show the initiates a few moves and I don't want to hurt them with it. Also, I don't want to damage the ring itself. I take it off and Tobias gives me a quizzical look.

"We talked about showing the initiates some fight moves. The stone would hurt them and also I don't want it to get damaged" I explain and his gaze softens.

"I almost thought you don't like wearing it anymore" he says with a chuckle, but I could hear his doubt, which hurts a little.

"Tobias, I love my engagement ring, not just because it's from you. You could have given me a plastic ring from a bottle and I would have still married you. I love you. But I really don't want it to hurt someone or get damaged. I'll put it back on when we are at home or the office."

"Maybe you should just leave it in your jewelry box until initiation is over. I mean we still have a long way to go until initiation is over and you are right, the stone might hurt them" Tobias agrees and I furrow my eyebrows which confuses him again. "What?"

"The hell I am. I love my ring. Once the physical part is over and the fear landscapes begin I'll flash that thing around like a trophy" I say slightly pouting. He looks at me for a moment and then laughs. He comes over to me and puts his hands on my hips pulling me close to him.

"I love you, Mrs. Eaton."

"I love you too, Mr. Eaton" I reply and we kiss for a little bit, but break apart from each other before we let it become impossible to do so.

We head downstairs to the cafeteria, since by now the initiates know the training schedule and the punishments for being late. We sit down at our regular table were all our friends already wait for us. We greet each other and talk about how wonderful it was to escape for a few days from this hectic life of ours. Of course, they all wanted some details and since both Tobias and I knew this would happen we decided to tell them a few things, leaving out the intimate ones of course. We tell them about the cabin and the pond, about Amity, about the surrounding area and how we ran into Robert. Tobias also tells them that we decided to go back there every year for our anniversary and later with our kids to vacation there. At the mention of kids all the girls "aw" and "oh" and look at me suggestively. I try to look away, suddenly embarrassed by them, but the guys seem to give Tobias the same look. He however grins like an idiot, somewhat confirming them that we are already in the process of making a baby. He might as well put up a sign that says "Four and Six trying for a baby". By thinking of babies I notice Shauna and Zeke aren't here so I ask Christina.

"Where's Shauna?"

"She and Zeke are at home. Zeke took a few days off" Christina tells me.

"Why? Something wrong?" Tobias asks concerned.

"Hunter is a little sick Nothing to worry about, colic. The doctor assured them it's normal and Shauna seemed more relaxed after that, but Zeke just freaked out and ran around like a chicken without a head" Uriah explains further and we laugh at that. I make a mental note to call them later. Or better yet text them. If the little guy has colic he won't appreciate it if his woken up from his slumber.

We finish up in the cafeteria before our friends can bore any more questions into us and head to the training room. Some of the initiates are already gathered there and either talk to each other or work out on the punching bags. I look over them and see a few changes. Most of them put on some muscle weight and seemed to have filled out nicely.

When Monica sees me she comes running toward me, but stops in her tracks suddenly. She looks past me and I turn around to see what freaked her out. Standing behind me is Jeremy who is smirking and approaches us. I turn back to Monica wondering why she is afraid of him, but she seems to have regained her cool.

"Hi, Monica" I say, trying to make her feel more at ease.

"Hi, Tris" she says and gives me a little smile.

"So, how have you been this past week?" I ask, not really knowing what else to ask or say.

"Uhm, I…" she starts stuttering, but gets rudely interrupted by Jeremy.

"Hi, Tris. So good to see you again" he says and comes way to close. I don't move an inch however, showing him that I'm in charge even if he is taller than me.

"Likewise" I say. "Monica, you were saying" I say and return my gaze to her. She glances toward Jeremy and then back at me. Something's off here, but I can't figure out what. Is she afraid of him or something? Or does she like him?

"Uhm, things were good. I'm glad you are back" she says before leaving me standing there dumbfounded. I look after her trying to decide if I should prod further or leave her for the time being. I am pulled out of my thoughts when someone touches my arm. I'm startled and turn toward the person who put his hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you" Jeremy says and I swear I see a glint in his eyes.

"You didn't scare me, I was just thinking about something and forgot you were there. Can I help you with something?" I ask, my tone even and cold. I don't like this guy. He gives me the creeps. He almost reminds me of Peter.

At the thought of Peter I remember the night he stabbed Edward in the eye and then later tried to kill me, by throwing me into the chasm. Tobias almost lost it when Peter was sentenced to only two years in prison and then be allowed back into Dauntless on parole. I don't like the prospect of having him back here either, but maybe this whole experience changed him and he sees his mistakes. If not, thankfully Tobias, Tori and I are in charge and we can kick him out if he's the same jackass he always has been.

"I just wanted to see how you are" Jeremy says sweetly, a little bit flirty even.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking" I reply, trying to get rid of him.

"Just fine? You just came back from your honeymoon" he says and I turn to look at him more intently now. What is he doing? "I would have thought you would be better than fine. Well, I guess things aren't always what they seem" he says grinning, but his eyes roam over me in a way that gives me the chills.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I prod. I don't like what he is implying.

"I would have thought a guy like Four, so big and tall, would be gifted and knows how to please a woman" he says caressing my arm with his crooked right index finger. I pull away from him, not liking him touching me. Did he just imply that my husband can't satisfy me sexually?

"What did you just say?" I ask a little louder than intended, drawing attention to us.

"I'm just saying" he says taking a step back.

"You were just saying what?" Tobias asks, towering behind him. Jeremy never noticed him coming and backs away afraid. Good, that little creep needs to be taught a lesson.

"Uh, Four, hi. I was just telling Tris how happy I am here" he says looking at me and giving me a look that said "just go with it". Geez, this douche thinks he is God's gift to womankind.

"Jeremy here thinks that my husband isn't as gifted as people might think" I say bluntly, surprising even me. Jeremy looks at me terrified. I bet he didn't see that coming. Tobias looks at me at first shocked. Probably he wasn't expecting me to say that either, but then he turns toward Jeremy.

"That's what you think?" he asks in a low voice and with an expression on his face that would make me shit my pants if it were directed at me.

"Uhm, no. That's not true" Jeremy says whimpering a little.

"Are you saying my wife is lying?" Tobias asks. I love that he calls me his wife, even in situations like this one.

"Uhm, no."

"Then what?"

"She misunderstood" he says trying to weasel his way out.

"You said that you thought Four being all big and tall would be and I quote gifted and knows how to please a woman" I say and now Tobias is raging. Before he can do something stupid however I get closer to both of them. "Let me be clear, Jeremy. Even if you become a member, and that's a big if at this point, Four and I are still your leaders. Pissing us off now guarantees you a lifetime of problems. It's that what you want?" I ask, my voice low, steady and cold. Jeremy looks at me a little terrified although I think he is more afraid of Tobias than me and nods his head. "And even though you don't deserve this, for the record my husband is very gifted and if you ever imply otherwise I will beat the living daylights out of you. Have I made myself clear?" I ask and he just looks at me dumbfounded so I yell. "I asked you a question, you pathetic little son of a bitch."

"Yes, Tris, yes" he says.

"Go and do 100 push-ups. Count them out loud so that I can hear you" Tobias growls and Jeremy practically runs from where we are. "That little motherfucker" Tobias says in a low, threatening voice. We tried to keep this as quiet as possible, but when I yelled at Jeremy the entire room looked at us. I doubt they heard the rest though. I look around and see that everyone stopped working out.

"Back to work" I yell at them, surprising myself. They look at me terrified and return to what they were doing. I look at Tobias who is panting and glaring at Jeremy. I put my hand over his left and take it in mine. "You okay?" I ask, although I can see he is not.

"What else did he say to you?" he asks still spiting fire.

"First, calm down" I say dead serious and he takes a deep breath. "Second, nothing other than what I've told you."

"That fucker. Did he really imply I can satisfy my wife? My own wife?" he asks only for me to hear.

"Forget about him. You and I both know that's not true. I don't give shit if he believes whatever the fuck he wants to believe."

"I could kill him for even talking to you" Tobias says staring at Jeremy. I place my hand on his right cheek and turn his head toward me.

"Honey, forget about him. He is full of himself now, but let's see how he is doing from here on out" I say trying to calm him.

"That little shit was hitting on you. He knows damn well that you are a married woman and he hit on you" Tobias rages on. Oh boy, this will take some time.

"Tobias" I say quiet enough for just him to hear me. "Look at me. I'm yours and yours alone. Forget about him. He thinks he is some kind of chick magnet, which he isn't. He is a creep and a perv and I can put him in his place. He doesn't know what I can do. Yet" I say smirking. At that Tobias finally looks at me and grins. He saw me fight several times and even though he never fought me he knows how good I am.

"Since you mentioned this I have two things that I have to tell you. First, I never told you how proud I am of you. You managed to improve your fighting technique so much that I don't think I could beat you, not that I would ever" he quickly adds when I smile at him. "Don't even think about it" he says knowing what I want. "Second, I want you and Lauren to show them how to fight each other especially the girls. I've been watching you and the girls for these past months and you guys were right. Many of the fighting techniques aren't good for female fighters. But you and Lauren could show the female initiates how to defend and inflict some serious damage on bigger opponents" he suggests.

"That'll be great. I'll talk to Lauren. We should let them train a little more before we do that. How about tomorrow? That will give me enough time to talk to Lauren about it and come up with a training plan for the girls. We should let them fight each other first and then the boys. But I would like the girls to be trained without the guys watching. You and Uriah know our style, but I'm confident you won't tell the male initiates" I say.

"I don't get it. Why don't you want them to know?" Tobias asks confused.

"It helps the girls to become more confident. We will show them something the guys won't expect. After that we will let them fight a few more times and see if the guys can figure out how to beat them. Also, the girls won't see the guys, which means they won't know how they will fight either. This will help them to become more observant and learn how to anticipate the unknown."

"Wow, you really thought about it, didn't you, Mrs. Eaton?" he asks a little relaxed now.

"Of course, I have. After both sides know how they fight they will be better prepared. Maybe the girls will adopt some of the male moves, while the guys some of the female moves."

"I like that. You are a good instructor, Tris. I'm happy about that" he honestly tells me.

"Well I had a good role model" I say and he smiles. He wraps his arms around my waist and I wrap mine around his neck, keeping us close to the other, but not enough to ignite a blazing fire. I decide to tease him a little. "Lauren is a great teacher. I've learned so much from her" I say still smiling and his face drops a little. "I mean, that other instructor I had during initiation he was such a douche, always picking on me and stuff. He even threw knives at me. Can you believe that?" I say and his gaze softens.

"He only tried to protect you, my little trouble-maker" he says kissing my lips softly.

"Yeah, I remember him saying that if he wanted to hurt me he would've" I say trying my best Four impression. He laughs lightly and kisses me again.

"I hope you know I would never deliberately hurt you, love" he says and rests his forehead on mine.

"Of course I know that. And same goes for me. I love you and I would die before hurting you" I say.

We kiss one more time before we part and watch over the initiates. We walk around and correct their stances, explaining how they should stand in front of the bags and how to avoid blows from imaginary opponents.

By lunch Tobias and I allow them to go take a shower and eat before they are expected back in the training room where we will evaluate their knife throwing skills. Since the incident in the morning with Jeremy I haven't heard any word from him. In fact, I haven't even seen him. I wonder where he is.

"Have you seen that little bastard?" Tobias asks, coming next to me and putting his arm around my waist leading me out of the room.

"Jeremy?" I ask and he nods. "No, I haven't. I was just wondering where he is. I haven't seen him since this morning" I say and lock the door behind us. We walk hand in hand to the cafeteria where we sit at our regular table. I see Lauren sitting here with us and decide to talk to her about our plan to train boys and girls separately for a while. "Hey Lauren" I say and she looks my way and waves since her mouth is full. "Sorry for interrupting your meal, but Four and I have an idea" I say.

"It's okay" she says after swallowing her food down. "What's up, guys?" she asks smiling at us.

"We thought of training the initiates separately for a while. We thought you and Tris could train the girls, while Uriah and I the boys. Afterwards we let them fight to see how much they have learned and who's better" Tobias explains.

"Sounds good. When do you want us to do this?" Lauren asks.

"Starting tomorrow. We will split them up. This way the girls won't be able to see the fighting techniques the boys learn from Four and Uriah and the boys won't see what we teach the girls" I tell her.

"How are we going to split them up?" Uriah asks.

"I thought we should let the girls have the training room tomorrow morning while we take the boys to the shooting range and then switch places after lunch. On Wednesday we go first and then the girls, Thursday the girls in the morning and we in the afternoon and on Friday we go first again and then the girls" Tobias explains.

"Sounds good" Uriah says.

"We should let them fight each other on Saturday to see how they are doing" I add.

"Fine by me" Lauren agrees.

"It's settled then. I will tell my girls and Lauren you tell yours" I say and she nods.

We start eating our food and engage in small talk with our friends ignoring the rest of the loud Dauntless crowd. At some point I see Monica from the corner of my eye and turn to look at her. She sits with the other initiates but doesn't seem like being part of the group. She was so cheerful before Tobias and I left for our honeymoon. I wonder what changed. I bet it had something to do with Jeremy. She smiled when she saw me but when she noticed him her mood changed abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Tobias asks, noticing that I've stopped eating and started staring toward the initiates.

"Monica" I say and he looks over at her.

"What about her?" he asks.

"I don't know. Something doesn't seem right. She was cheerful when we left, but now she's so quiet and isolated" I say looking at him.

"Don't worry, honey. All of them look miserable" he says trying to lighten my mood, but it doesn't work.

"Honey, I'm serious. Something must have happened to her. Look at her. She looks terrified, like a kicked puppy" I say. I hear Tobias sigh, but he doesn't say anything else.

"Chris, did something happen to Monica while we were gone?" Tobias asks her and Christina looks to where Monica sits.

"Not that I know of. Although she came in Friday morning late. But she was in the infirmary" Christina tells us.

"What? Why?" I ask confused. They shouldn't have been in the infirmary yet. They haven't even started fighting yet.

"She tripped and fell down the stairs" Christina says. I look over at her but can't quite believe that. If she would have fallen down the stairs she would have been more bruised, but she looks rather fine. I think of calling the infirmary and ask for her medical file, but that would be an invasion of privacy. I will try and talk to her to see if she wants to open up to me. But something's definitely wrong here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, what about that Jeremy? Thinks he's some kind of sex god or something, hitting on Tris and all.
> 
> Should Four kick him stupid? Or better yet Tris?
> 
> And what about Monica? What do you think happened to her?
> 
> What do you think of girls and boys training separately?
> 
> I hope to read your reviews and comments.
> 
> Until next time (Sunday).
> 
> Cloakseeker


	68. Chapter 68

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: First, thanks to all the new reviews I've received lately.
> 
> Second, I've posted two one-shots filled with smut called "Fourgasm" and "Better than Dauntless cake" read them and leave a comment. Also, if you would like more of those I open for suggestions.
> 
> One more thing. Some of you who reviewed either this story or "Moments we share" or any of the one-shots are guests and unfortunately I can't reply to you, but be assured that I read each and every one of your messages. Sometimes I can make it happen - like writing a one-shot someone suggested or a tie-in to this story. I'm also available on Tumblr. You could write me there.
> 
> Enjoy this new chapter of YAMATW!

68

The next morning Lauren and I gather all the girls in the training room, while Tobias and Uriah have the guys running a few laps around the compound. We let the girls get acquainted before we start showing them basic moves.

We start out with simple moves, moving only our upper bodies in the process. We show them how to punch and defend at the same time. We let the girls practice each move for several minutes, watching them carefully and correcting them if necessary. We decided not to yell at them like it's used to. To our surprise all the girls are disciplined and listen to us without talking back. I never noticed this before, but it's the boys who always speak up and make a fuss. We actually have a great time with the girls. It reminds me more of our workout with my girlfriends than initiation training. We quickly get to know each other and talk during short breaks.

All of the girls congratulate me for getting married and wish me and Tobias a happy life together. Lauren and I decide it's a little soon to let them spar, so we insist on them knowing and mastering the basic moves.

By lunch the girls rush into the cafeteria and eat something healthy, which is a little uncommon here in Dauntless. Lauren and I sit at our table and greet our friends. Both Tobias and Uriah aren't here yet, so I decide to wait for him before I start eating. Soon they join us and I can see that Tobias is a little pissed. He sits down next to me and kisses my cheek. I look at him and decide not to prod and let him tell me when he's ready. I grab his hand in mine however, squeezing it lightly. He looks at me and smiles a little. He leans in and kisses my lips softly.

"Can we go home?" he asks.

"Aren't you hungry?" I ask him.

"Yeah, but we can take our plates with us and eat at home." I nod and fill our plates. We say goodbye to our friends who look at us quizzically, but don't say anything. We walk up to our apartment and enter it, locking door behind us. I walk toward the kitchen and Tobias follows me. We sit down at the island and start eating our meal. Tobias remains quiet the whole time and this starts to worry me. He isn't one for meaningless small talk, but we always exchange at least a few words during meals. But now he is just eating and seemingly a thousand miles away. When I'm done I take my plate to the sink and wash it. I turn around and lean against the counter looking at Tobias who is still oblivious of his surroundings. Something is bothering him and it bothers me that he isn't telling me. It's not that I'm curious, but he is obviously upset about something and I can't understand why he wouldn't tell me.

"Tobias" I ask softly from where I'm standing. He looks up at me and tries to smile. "What is wrong?"

"I almost attacked Jeremy" he says pushing the plate away.

"What? Why?" I ask and approach the island.

"He provoked one of the other initiates and they started fighting. Uriah and I pulled them apart and demanded to know what was going on" he tells me.

"And?" I ask now really curious.

"You know Sean? Dauntless-born, his dad used to work with me in the control room" he tells me and I remember him. Brian, if I remember right. I nod for him to continue.

"Turns out Sean and his girlfriend are initiates this year and apparently Jeremy hit on her. She refused his advances and he kept coming on to her" Tobias tells me. This sounds a little familiar.

"Let me guess. At the mention of that you remembered yesterday, right?" I ask and he nods. "What happened next?" I ask.

"Sean yelled at him to leave his girlfriend alone, but Jeremy insisted she was coming on to him" Tobias tells me. "That made me even angrier and I barely kept it together. Thankfully Will was there and held me back before I could punch the living crap out of that punk." I walk over to him and pull him into my arms. His arms immediately encircle me in his protective embrace and he buries his face in the crook of my neck.

"I'm sorry you had such a rough morning, honey. I'm glad you didn't punch him, though, not that he didn't deserve it, but you are his instructor and you need to be above that. We will handle this matter together, okay?" I say rubbing his back, trying to soothe him a little.

"Let's sit on the couch" he says. We untangle and walk over to the living room where we sit down. He pulls me in his arms and I sit on his lap, resting my head on his shoulder. He runs his right hand over my thigh and takes deep breaths. "That little fucker causes too much trouble. I don't want him here" he finally says.

"Tobias, just because he hit on a girl doesn't mean we can kick him out" I say and he pushes me a little to look me in the eyes. He looks a little shocked but then gets what I mean. Just because we are leaders we can't just go and decide who stays and who goes.

"I know. But he hit on you too and he is disrespectful every chance he gets. He is a real trouble maker and I heard a few complaints."

"I don't like him either. But we need to be fair and respect faction law. We can't risk ignoring them and do whatever we want. We will just keep a closer eye on him from here on out."

"How was your morning?" he asks trying to change the subject. But I don't mind. I hate it when he's upset.

"Pretty great, actually. The girls are disciplined and listen to what we are saying. And I've noticed they never talk back. Seems to me that's a guy thing" I say with a chuckle, trying to lighten Tobias's mood.

"Hey, we guys don't always talk back" he says with a small smile.

"I know, but I'm really proud of the girls. You should see them" I beam.

"Well, I'll see them soon enough."

"After lunch Lauren and I will take the girls out for a run and then maybe some strength training in the yard and you guys can have the training room all to yourselves" I tell him.

"Alright. Before I forget it. Tori texted me. She finished with the transfer files for the last three years, but I asked her to go back two additional years. Better safe than sorry" he tells me and I nod in acknowledgment. We decide to just hang out until we need to go back to torture our initiates. We make out for a while until my phone buzzes. We both groan. I look at the display and see that it's almost two p.m. Wow, I haven't even noticed what time it was.

"It's almost two p.m." I tell Tobias. "We need to go back." He leans forward and captures my lips again.

"Alright, but tonight you are all mine, Mrs. Eaton. No interruptions" he says with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Deal, Mr. Eaton" I say and peck his lips one more time before we get up and leave the apartment. Near the training room we go our separate ways.

I'm happy to see that the girls have already gathered outside in the yard and Lauren tells them about what we will be doing this afternoon. Some of them groan in frustration and I try to hold back a chuckle. They remind me of me and Christina whenever Tobias dragged us out for a run. Back then it was more difficult, since we weren't in shape, but after a year of doing this on a regular basis I far better than before. I even outrun Tobias sometimes.

"Come on, girls" I say approaching them. "It's not that bad" I say.

"Easy for you to say" Kaylee, a transfer from Amity says.

"Well, it wasn't when I was an initiate. But it gets better. You just need to practice. Here's the deal. We will start running at a slower pace so that you guys can get used to it. Then we will increase our speed. Running is a very good exercise not only for endurance, but also agility and focus. And while running all your muscles are worked, even if you don't notice it at first" I explain.

"If any of you has trouble keeping up, tell either me or Tris and we can work something out with you individually" Lauren says and they nod. "Alright, ladies, let's start running."

We run for twenty minutes before we stop. Lauren and I check the girls to see how their doing. To all of our surprise they aren't as out of shape as they originally thought. I think the idea of a run is more terrifying than the actual thing. Also, they might be more intimidated by my husband and his stern looks.

"Not bad, ladies" I say, trying to encourage them.

"It's not as bad as I thought" Kaylee says and then quickly adds "or the way it was before."

"What do you mean?" I ask her.

"Well, when we first ran we you and Four we had to run faster than now and it was harder keeping up with the boys" she explains.

"How was your training with Christina and Dwayne?" I ask.

"Pretty much the same" Monica answers. She looks better now than in the cafeteria. I'm glad, but I still need to find out what was wrong.

"Well, Tris and I decided to approach this training with just you girls a little differently. We are trying out a few new methods to see how to improve our teaching skills. Trust me, compared to the crap we had to take at this point in our own initiation what you experience is child's play" Lauren tells them and I laugh.

"Yeah, at this point I got beaten up twice" I say and the girls look at me horrified. "Oh, don't worry. Lauren and I will prepare you, but you also need to work hard. This is not a game. Someday everything we teach you now will decide if you live or die. When you chose Dauntless you chose the warrior faction. It is our job to ensure the safety of everyone in the city. How will you do that if you can't protect yourselves? Whatever you need come to us, either Lauren or me or Four or even Uriah. If you think the guys won't understand you then obviously come to Lauren or me, but tell us if you have a problem. Let us help you."

The girls nod and after another five minutes we continue our run, this time a little faster than before. We run for another twenty minutes before we stop and rest for ten. We run two more laps, each time a little faster than before. By now we ran for two hours and allow the girls a thirty minutes break and decide to see each other at the entrance of the secondary training room where the weights are. While the girls rest I decide to pay the boys a visit. They are all repeating a move that Tobias taught them when I enter. Tobias has his back turned to me and doesn't notice me until I'm standing right next to him.

"Geez, Tris. You startled me" he says and puts an arm around my waist.

"Sorry?" I say more like a question.

"It's fine."

"Where were you?"

"I was thinking of a few things, mostly how pathetic they are" he says tilting his head toward the boys.

"Ah, come on, they can't be that bad" I say.

"Listen up" he yells out loud and I have to cover my ear closest to him. Geez, talk about loud. "I want you to repeat the three moves Uriah and I showed you earlier. And start" he says and I watch them. He's right. They are uncoordinated and even move wrong.

"What did you guys do this whole time?" I ask, trying to hold back a chuckle.

"Apparently wasting our time with these good-for-nothings" he says the last part louder so that all of them can hear him. "How are the girls doing?" he asks and turns toward me. I want to brag a little with my girls, 'cause that's how it feels like, my girls, but decide not to rub it in his face. At least not yet.

"They're doing okay. Had a few complaints about the running, but so far it's good."

"How about the fighting? Are they any better than these pathetic losers?" he asks exasperated by them.

"Honey, they aren't losers. They just need to practice some more" I say.

"They are the worst bunch I've ever trained" he says and I stand on my tip toes whispering in his ear.

"They are only the third group you have trained. Give it a few years and I'm sure there will be worse than these ones" I say with a chuckle and he frowns. "Come on, it's funny" I say.

"Not that I don't love having you here next to me, but shouldn't you be with the girls? Where are they?" he asks pulling me close and kissing my lips gently.

"I allowed them to rest for half an hour" I say and he looks at me questioningly.

"Why?"

"Because they have been running around for two hours with short breaks. They need to rest before we continue" I explain.

"They ran for two hours? Did they complain much?" he asks with a chuckle.

"Actually, they haven't" I say and he raises an eyebrow, not believing a word I'm saying.

"I swear it's true. We were all surprised, but they did their best to keep up and only then said something when it became too difficult. But only three of them called us. The rest did great. I'm really proud of my girls" I say beaming.

"Your girls?" he asks chuckling.

"Well, yeah. They are my girls. We have gotten a lot closer and I think this is great."

"Tris, they are initiates. They need to understand that you aren't their friend" he says a little irritated.

"Chill. They know that, I know that. And if any of them steps out of line I know how to solve that little problem" I say pulling away from him, not liking that he questions my methods. He might have been an instructor for longer than me, but it's not like his methods are the soundest. "I need to get back to the girls. See you later" I say and strut away. I hear him call my name, but I don't look back and he doesn't follow me. Good. I'm too pissed anyway. He can be such an ass sometimes.

I walk into the room with the weights and find that Lauren is already there with a few of the girls. Since they feel fine they decided to start lifting. One by one all of them arrive and we start working out together. We stay in the weights room for another two hours, but I hardly talk to any of them. I am so pissed that I can't see straight. I know I might be exaggerating here, but he needs to see that he doesn't know everything.

We dismiss the girls and tell them that tomorrow morning we will resume our training in the weights lifting room and then go to the shooting range. The girls bid us farewell and leave me and Lauren alone.

"Tris, what's up?" she asks concerned.

"Nothing" I say simply but she gives me a look that says I don't buy it. "I'm fine. I just don't want to talk about it, okay?" I say a little snappy and I feel immediately sorry for my behavior but I don't say anything else. She nods and leaves the room leaving me alone. I clean up and prepare myself to walk out when Tobias comes inside.

"What was that?" he asks a little angry.

"What was what?" I ask back, not particularly nice.

"The way you acted and talked before."

"You have a problem?" I ask him irritated, all the anger from before coming back at once.

"Apparently you have one" he says almost cold. "Wanna share it with me?"

"I don't have any problem" I say snappy. He really gets on my nerves.

"Tris, I'm just trying to help you" he says exasperated.

"Really? Do tell" I say and grab my water bottle passing him. I walk to the door and pull out the key. He follows me and lets me close and lock the door behind us. "I'm waiting" Is ay when he doesn't answer.

"Can we talk at home?" he asks angrier now than before.

"Let's go." We walk up the stairs to our apartment in complete silence. The tension between us however seems to speak volumes. We enter the apartment and I walk toward the stairs.

"Tris" he calls after me.

"What?" I ask and turn around.

"What the hell?"

"I could ask the exact same thing. What the hell, Four?"

"You know I don't like it when you call me that" he says a little louder.

"Really, 'cause today you acted just like that. Like Four. My instructor Four. But guess what? You're not my instructor anymore" I yell and walk up the stairs. I don't know what's going on, but I feel overwhelmed with emotions. Maybe the stress of these past weeks finally caught up with me and now I'm freaking out.

"Tris" he yells after me, but I continue my way up. "Damn it" I hear him curse. "Tris, stop for a second. What's up with you?"

"What's up with me? What's up with you? You always like to correct me and tell me I'm wrong" I say, although that's not quite true, but something in me makes me say that.

"That's not true and you know it."

"Really? Just two hours ago I told you how well I get along with the girls and you tell me my methods are stupid" I yell at him.

"I never said they were stupid" he defends.

"Right. You didn't. You just insinuated that if I act like their friend they won't respect me. You're right. It's not that my methods are stupid, I'm the stupid one for thinking these girls like me and still respect me as their instructor." He looks a little shocked by what I'm saying but quickly regains his composure.

"I never said that either. I merely said you need to be careful and draw the line so that they don't mistake you for their friend."

"Maybe I want to be their friend" I say.

"Tris, you are their instructor. You need to be above them" he says yelling again.

"Don't yell at me!" I yell.

"You are yelling. I just match your tone" he says angry.

"I can be both friend and instructor and so far my method is far better than yours."

"Really? I've been an instructor for longer than you" he says and sits down on the bed, exhausted and irritated by the argument we're having.

"That maybe true, but the girls, who I am training, are already better and more disciplined and focused than those bunch of idiots. They might be intimidated by you, but they don't have any idea how to even stand straight. Tomorrow the girls will learn a few more moves and then we will start sparing. I'm confident that they will master the fighting long before any of the boys. You know why? 'Cause I actually talk to them instead of yelling" I say and walk into the bathroom.

"So that's what you think? That I'm only yelling at them?" he asks angry coming after me. I start to undress wanting to take a shower and ignore him completely. "I yell at them to show them that I won't allow them to slack off. Are you even listening?" he asks.

"No. I'm getting ready to take a shower" I say and get rid of my underwear. I turn on the shower and wait for the water to warm up enough to step inside. I walk in and close the door leaving Tobias just standing there. A few moments later the door opens and he enters staring me down. "Cut that. Your intimidating Four stare doesn't scare me anymore" I say and turn around.

"You are exasperating me, woman" he growls.

"And you are pissing me off, man" I say grabbing the soap and lathering my body. But then Tobias turns me around and I almost let the soap fall down. He crashes his lips over mine and kisses me passionately. I try to resist at first, but who am I kidding? I want him. And I want him now. I let the soap drop and wrap my arms around his neck. He picks me up and my legs snake around his waist. He pushes me into the tile wall and presses his body closer to mine. Before I know it he thrusts his rock hard dick inside me and starts a frantic in and out pace, building the already familiar sensation of a fantastic orgasm. His thrusts become quicker and I know he is close. He leaves my lips and sucks on my pulse point while circling my clit with his thumb. I stumble over the edge and cry out his name, followed closely by him. He spills his semen deep inside me and we slide down the wall still connected. He carefully sits down and leans against the shower cabin wall while I'm straddling his lap. I rest my head against his shoulder and just let him hold me close.

"I'm sorry, baby. I shouldn't have acted like Four with you" he apologizes.

"I'm sorry too. I don't know what happened. I know you didn't mean it and it wasn't half as bad as I made it look like. I don't know what's wrong with me" I say and feel tears running down my face. He pushes me slightly backwards and caresses my cheeks, wiping away the stray tears.

"Hey, hey. Don't cry, my love. We were both wrong and we both exaggerated. But we are okay now. Please stop crying" he says and kisses my forehead.

"I'm sorry, honey. I'm so stupid" I say and he pulls me closer to him.

"No, you are not. We both acted stupid. We could have handled this better. But that's what marriage is about. Ups and downs and the way we manage things. We'll get the hang of it" he says and I chuckle.

"Yeah. I love you, Tobias" I say and pull back to look him in the eyes. I need him to know that what I say it's true. I love him with all my heart, no matter what.

"I love you too, Tris" he says and we kiss softly without deepening it. When we part he smiles shyly.

"What?" I ask.

"I know this isn't something to celebrate or anything, but…" he stops talking and looks at me.

"But what?" I ask urging him to continue.

"This was our first fight as husband and wife" he says and I stop to think for a moment. At the realization I start laughing and he follows my example.

"Is it weird that we find this important?" I ask.

"Not at all. It's part of who we are together. Sometimes we won't be on the same page, but know this. As long as I live I will love you. Even if you have some stupid idea" he says on a more joyful note.

"Hey" I say pretending to be offended. "And just that you know, trying to be their friend isn't as bad as you might think" I say referring to the initiates.

"Maybe" he says thinking about my words.

"I mean it. There were times when you were actually nice to me and that gave me some strength to carry on" I say and he smiles.

"Yeah, but I liked you. I slowly started to fall in love with you. That's different" he says and kisses my nose.

"Maybe, but back then I had no idea what you felt for me. So, any kind word or gesture meant the world to me. Not just because I liked you, but because my instructor took his time to correct my stance and made sure that I would make it and not get kicked out. I realize why you did it, but still. Sometimes you can catch more bees with honey than with a sledgehammer" I say.

"Is this your subtle way of saying that you are the honey and I'm the sledgehammer?" he asks jokingly.

"Maybe" I say with a sexy grin.

"In that case, may I get a taste of your honey?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What did you guys think? Especially about the argument. I thought it was about time that they fight a little. 
> 
> But why was Tris so irritated?
> 
> Suggestions? I bet you won't get it. :)


	69. Chapter 69

69

I wake up the next morning cranky and pissed and feel a sharp pain in my abdomen. I drag myself into the bathroom and look for some painkillers in the first aid kit we have there. I take two pills just to be sure and take a shower. I can hear Tobias coming into the bathroom and feel him a moment later when he embraces me from behind.

"Good morning, my beautiful wife" he says and kisses my temple.

"Morning" I say groggily.

"What's wrong?" he asks concerned and turns me around. "Tris?" he asks, when I don't answer, but grimace instead, because of the pain.

"I'm fine. It's just some pain. I might have eaten something bad. I don't know. I took a couple of painkillers, but they haven't kicked in yet" I say.

"You sure that's it?" he asks.

"Of course, I'm sure" I snap but regret it immediately. "I'm sorry. The pain is just persistent and makes me be all bitchy" I say. He pulls me close to him and rubs my back.

"We should go to the infirmary and let a doctor check you out" he says softly.

"I'm fine. I'm sure it's nothing life threatening" I say. He tightens his grip on me and I wince.

"I'm sorry, but don't say that again. I don't want anything bad happening to you" he says. "We'll go, even if I have to drag you there, Mrs. Eaton" he says half jokingly.

"There's no way I can change your mind, is there?" I ask half laughing, half whining.

"Nope. Your well-being is my number one priority" he says.

We finish showering and I decide to skip breakfast for now. We walk hand in hand downstairs to the infirmary and ask for a doctor. Dr. Morris is on call and immediately invites us into one of the more private exam rooms. He makes me hop onto an exam table and sits across from me on a chair, Tobias stands next to me holding my hand.

"What do you feel?" he asks.

"I woke up this morning and felt this sharp pain in my abdomen. I took two painkillers and the pain seems to subside, but it's still there" I tell him.

"Did you have any other unusual symptoms as of late?" he asks. I think for a moment and the only thing out of the ordinary are my mood swings.

"I've been cranky lately and yesterday I basically exploded over some minor disagreement with Four. Even while I fought with him I knew that I was exaggerating, but I couldn't help it. And I also feel the urge to cry sometimes" I say.

"You never told me that" Tobias says softer than usual and the doctor looks at him. He never shows his softer side to anyone other than me. This might be even stranger to the doctor than what I'm experiencing.

"Up until now I didn't think it was relevant" I say. "I mean, I don't have any reasons to be sad. For God's sake, I just got married. I'm happier than ever. And yet I feel like crying sometimes" I say exasperated by my own feelings.

"Do you experience any of the following?" the doctor asks and starts listing a few symptoms. "Nausea, vomiting, frequent urination, tension in your chest area, a stronger sexual appetite" he asks and continues but at this point both Tobias and I blush and look away. I think for a while about what the doctor asked and realize something. The symptoms he listed are pregnancy symptoms. Maybe I'm pregnant. "So?" the doctor asks, urging me to answer.

"Uhm, not really. Do you think I might be pregnant?" I ask and Tobias's eyes widen.

"It's possible. However we need to do some additional tests. Do you have an OBGYN?" he asks.

"Yes, Dr. Montgomery at the hospital. Should I make an appointment with her?" I ask.

"No need. I'll call her for you. Stay here" he says and leaves the room leaving me and Tobias alone.

"You think it's true?" he asks tentatively.

"I don't know. Other than the strange mood I'm in there is no real indication that I might be pregnant. But if Addison is free I'll go and let her check me out."

"I want to come with you" he says caressing my cheek.

"I'd like that, but you need to go to the training room and torture some initiates" I say jokingly.

"You are the only thing that matters to me" he says.

"I know, baby, but it might be a false alarm. Please, I'd feel more comfortable going alone. Don't get me wrong, honey" I say seeing the hurt in his eyes "I love you and want to share everything with you, but I want to talk to Addison alone. Just some women stuff, please" I say.

"I don't want to intrude" he says.

"It's not that. But sometimes it's easier to talk with a woman, especially one who knows my body and knows what might be wrong" I say.

"You think there's something wrong?" he asks.

"I don't know, honey. I wish I would be pregnant, but this pain is not normal. I've read a few books already and all the other symptoms the doctor listed aren't there. I don't want to get mine and your hopes up. And if I'm not pregnant I want to talk to Addison about it, seek her professional advice" I tell him.

"I still want to go with you" he says a little whiny.

"I know, but please do this for me" I say and kiss his palm that was resting on my cheek.

"Alright, but take the car. I don't want you to jump trains when you are in pain" he says.

"Deal."

The doctor enters the room and tells me that Addison could squeeze me in between two other appointments, but I should get going now, because I have to be there in half an hour. I thank him and Tobias and I walk to his office to get the car keys. He walks me to the garage and sees me off, before heading to the training room. He told me he would explain to Lauren that I had an urgent meeting to attend and would be back later.

I arrive in time at the hospital and park the car. I lock it and walk up the stairs and take the elevator to Addison's office. When I'm there I knock on her door and wait for her to ask me in. The moment I'm inside Addison gets up and walks over to where I am and hugs me.

"Congratulations on your marriage" she says and I thank her. "Please, sit down and let us talk" she says and we sit on the comfortable couch. I tell her about the pain in my abdomen, about my bad mood. Like Dr. Morris she too asks me about other pregnancy symptoms, but I tell her I don't have any. She decides to run some tests. We walk into the adjacent exam room and she draws some blood for testing. Then she hands me a cup and asks me to go to the small bathroom attached to the room. I do so and return five minutes later. She hands both samples to a nurse and asks her to tell the lab to hurry with the results. We then sit back down on the couch and talk. She asks me about my work, about how life is like as a married woman.

"This is the happiest I've ever been" I tell her. "Four is wonderful. I know that people only know him as serious and intimidating, but with me his different."

"I've seen. Ever since the two of you first came to my office almost a year ago I could tell that he loves you very much. But you seem stressed out" she tells me furrowing her eyebrows.

"Well, initiation started and that's a lot of work. Also I still have my responsibilities as leader and council member and a few other projects I need to take care of. And on top of all that Four and I are trying to get pregnant" I tell her with a half smile.

"Oh, I see" she says and smiles back. "Tris, you have to understand that it isn't that simple" she says and I look at her curiously. "I've told you that after you stop using the birth control shot it might take a while to get pregnant. Sometimes it takes months to accomplish that. You have to relax and let nature take its course. Also, the fact that you are stressed out with work might be a factor to delay conception."

"What are you saying? That while I work I can't get pregnant?" I ask confused.

"No, but as long as you stress yourself out your body reacts. It protects itself" she explains and I suddenly get angry. Does she imply that my body protects itself from creating a new life?

"Are you seriously telling me that my body is keeping me from getting pregnant?" I ask a little loud.

"Tris, calm down. That's not what I said. It's not uncommon. Many women who work have this problem. You need to give yourself time, don't force it. Try to not think about it too much" she says and I realize how immature I acted.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"It's okay. I think I do. Tell me, did you have your period since you stopped using the shot?" she asks and I think back to the last two weeks.

"No, as a matter of fact" I say.

"We still have to wait for the tests, but I think I can rule out pregnancy. It's highly common that at this stage since you stopped using birth control your body adjusts to the changes and your hormone level sometimes spikes before adjusting as well. There might still be residual components of the shot in your blood preventing conception. But your bad mood is not uncommon for PMS" she explains.

"PMS? You mean I'm bitchy 'cause my period is about to kick in?" I ask.

"Yes, most likely. Did you experience something like this before?" she asks.

"Yes, sort of. Never this intense though" I tell her.

"That's normal. Your body is pumped with hormones from the birth control shot making you a little more sensitive. But they will soon leave your body. Don't worry" just as she finishes we hear a knock on the door. The nurse enters and gives Addison a folder and then leaves. Addison reads the file and nods. "Just like I thought. You are not pregnant. It's just PMS combined with the stress at work. Give yourself some time, Tris. You and Four can still have sex without using any birth control, but my guess is it will take a few more weeks before you can expect to actually get pregnant. How about we see each other in two months from now?" she asks.

"Sounds good" I say.

"If you get your period right before the appointment call me and we will reschedule for afterwards. Just because you had it doesn't mean you aren't pregnant or I don't want to examine you." She continues telling me about the birth control shot and pregnancy until the nurse knocks again on the door telling her that her next patient is here. I stand up, shake her hand and bid her goodbye. Before I leave she tells me to call her anytime I need someone to talk to or if there's any problem. I thank her and give her a hug. It's not uncommon for us, we actually became somewhat friends and I'm happy about it.

I leave the hospital and walk to the car. I check the time and see it's almost time for lunch. By the time I will be back at the compound everyone will be in the cafeteria so I decide to go there. The drive back takes almost longer than usual. I'm deep in thought when I arrive and don't even register that I'm sitting in my car, when someone knocks on the window. I'm startled and let out a yell. I look toward the person who knocked and see Tobias. I hold my hand over my chest and breathe hard, trying to calm myself. He opens the door and crouches down next to me.

"I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to scare you" he says apologetically.

"It's okay. I wasn't paying attention. It's my fault really. Were you standing there for long?" I ask looking at him. He smiles and shakes his head. "I thought I would check if the car is back before calling you" he says and grabs my hand which is now resting in my lap, pulling it to his mouth and kissing it softly.

"I'm sorry. I should have called you" I say and look into his beautiful eyes. "Would you get in the car?"

"Are we going somewhere?" he asks amused.

"No, please, just get in" I say serious and he does so. He walks around and gets into the passenger's seat. I close my door and so does he with his. I turn to look at him and swallow hard.

"What's wrong, Tris? Are you sick? Please, tell me" he says anxious.

"I'm not pregnant" I say and I can see his both surprised and disappointed.

"That's okay, love" he says smiling a little. "We'll keep trying. You know I don't mind the exercise" he says and I chuckle.

"I bet you don't" I say still smiling but then turn serious. I need to tell him everything that Addison told me. "I had a long chat with Addison. Turns out my bad mood comes from PMS" I tell him and he looks at me confused.

"PMS? What's that? Is that some disease?" he asks, obviously not familiar with the term.

"It means pre-menstrual syndrome. Basically it means my body prepares for my period. Among known symptoms are crankiness, cravings for salty or sweet things, increased sexual appetite" I say and he smirks at the last symptom. But then he realizes what I'm saying.

"So, the bad mood is not from hormones" he says.

"Hormones yes, but not pregnancy hormones. Addison explained to me that there are still traces of the birth control shot in my blood, which prevents me from getting pregnant. It can take up to several weeks after stopping using it until a woman can get pregnant. But she also told me that stress is also a factor of preventing conception. So, it might take a while since we both know how stressed I really am. Between leadership and initiation there is also my position as council member and the various projects I'm involved in. The fact that we are actually trying to get pregnant on purpose only adds to my stress. Addison recommended to not think too much about it and we decided I would go back for a check-up in two months."

"I see" he says and leans back into his seat.

"Are you very disappointed in me?" I ask nervous and his head snaps toward me.

"Disappointed? Of course not, honey. It's not your fault. Don't even think that" he says sternly. "I love you and we will manage this. I promise" he says and cups my face leaning forward to kiss me.

"I love you too" I say before our lips meet and we let go of all the bad things and just focus on each other. When we part we breathe in much needed air and smile at each other.

"Also, this gives me the perfect excuse to make love to my beautiful wife every night" he says grinning.

"Since when do you need an excuse?" I tease.

"I don't" he says and kisses me again but then my stomach growls and we laugh. "Come on, let's get you fed."

We leave the garage and walk to the cafeteria hand in hand. We sit at our regular table with our friends and chat leisurely about little things. To my surprise Shauna and Zeke are here but little Hunter isn't.

"Where's Hunter?" I ask.

"With my mom" Zeke answers. "She insisted on her grammy time with him and we just couldn't say no."

"You mean you couldn't say yes quick enough. You gave mom the baby and darted out" Uriah says and we laugh.

"That's not true" Zeke defends.

"It's a little true" Shauna says chuckling. "Don't get us wrong. We love our son and wouldn't trade the life we have now with him for anything, but sometimes we just need a minute" she says half defeated.

"Don't worry, Shauna" Marlene says. "It's only normal. It happens to all parents. Just because you crave a little time for yourselves doesn't mean you don't love him like crazy."

"And we do. I never thought I could love a child like this" Zeke says proud.

"I'm happy to hear that" Marlene says.

We continue eating and chatting until it's time to go back to work. Tobias and I walk to the training room together and then split. We kiss for a few minutes until Lauren yells out loud to get a room. We part chuckling, but I can see he blushed a little, but it's nothing compared to the deep red on my cheeks. He gives me one last peck before heading out to meet the guys. I enter the training room and Lauren and I show the girls a few more moves. They repeat the movements several times until they get the hang of it and then we decide to let them spar. We set them up first according to height and then switch. Some of them are stronger, while others faster. We switch them several times to see where they need to work harder.

Their sparing sessions are nothing like the ones I had while being an initiate. We take our time explaining them all they need to know. Right now it's just another form of training. They aren't really fighting, but soon they'll have to. When Lauren and I both agree that they are prepared enough for some real fighting we decide to show them how it's done.

We get into the ring and take our stances. All the girls watch us carefully as we circle each other at first. Lauren moves to attack but I block. Then I kick her, but she successfully blocks as well. We deliberately show the girls moves we taught them so that they know when and how to use them best. But as we continue we use some of the moves we each feel more comfortable with. The girls gasp and cheer and applaud as we continue. By now we actually started fighting for real, Lauren and I both hit to cause some damage. She managed a few blows to my ribs, while I hit her hard in the shin and shoulder. By now all the girls took sides. I can't tell how many cheer for me and how many for Lauren. I take out and manage to hit her in jaw which makes her stumbling back. I use this opportunity and swing around and kick her in the stomach. She tumbles and falls to the ground, gasping for air. The fight is over. I win. I hear even louder cheers and when I look up I see that not only the girls are in the training room, but also the guys. I find Tobias in the crowd and he smirks proudly at me. I help Lauren up and ask Monica and Kaylee to help her to the infirmary. The three of them leave and I go to where I left my water bottle. I take a few gulps and set it back down. Tobias followed me and embraces me from behind.

"There's my warrior queen" he says so that only I can hear him.

"I didn't even notice when you came in" I say turning around.

"I'm smooth" he says grinning and I chuckle. "It also helps that you were so focused on beating Lauren's ass" he adds and we both laugh.

"Wow, Tris, that was awesome" we hear someone say and Tobias turns around while I just lean to my left to see who is speaking. To both our misfortune it's Jeremy.

"Thanks" I say and return my attention to my husband, who visibly tensed when he saw our least favorite initiate.

"I mean you are just great" he continues and Tobias glares at him.

"You are all dismissed" Tobias says loudly for everyone to hear. They slowly leave the training room, but Jeremy lingers. "There anything I can do for you?" Tobias asks him.

"I was wondering if you could show me a few moves, Tris" Jeremy asks, ignoring Tobias, who tightens his grip on me.

"Not tonight, Jeremy. Go to the dorms and rest" I say, my voice even. He grins and leaves. What the hell is his problem? I feel Tobias shake and try to comfort him by rubbing his arms. "Baby, no" I say and he looks down at me, his gaze softening a little.

"What?" he asks a little snappy.

"He's not worth it" I say and keep rubbing his arms, trying to calm him down.

"I hate that little bastard" he tells me.

"Honey, not here" I say. "Let's go home and I'll make you some lasagna and a chocolate pudding" I tell him, trying to distract him. He nods but his mood doesn't seem to have changed. Jeremy really likes to challenge Tobias, whether he realizes it or not. But he messes with the wrong Dauntless. I grab Tobias's hand and we walk out, locking the door behind us. I text Lauren on my way up the apartment asking if she's alright and she immediately answers that she is. I let out a sigh of relief and text Christina telling her that Tobias and I won't join them for supper as we said we would. She texts back asking if everything is alright and I just tell her that Lauren and I showed the girls how to fight and I'm very tired now. She seems to accept my explanation, because she doesn't insist.

We arrive home and Tobias unlocks and opens the door. He lets me enter first and I immediately walk upstairs. On the stairs I notice that he isn't following me.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"Huh?" he asks startled.

"I said what's wrong?" I ask again.

"Nothing" he says but the look I'm giving him tells him I don't buy that for a second. "That kid just annoys the crap out of me" he says in frustration.

"Tobias, just forget him. Ignore that little shit. Come on. I'm all dirty and I need your help to get clean again" I say and grin. He looks up understanding what I want and sprints up the stairs, passing me in the process.

"You coming?" he asks and I shake my head, but smile widely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry, guys. But Tris isn't pregnant yet. I told you you wouldn't guess. Well, a few of you did. Congrats to those who figured out my little scheme. The thing is it's only normal. The girls among you who read this should know better. Using birth control for a long while pumps lots of hormones into your body and it takes time to adjust after stopping. There's still shit going on but the baby is planned, my impatient little FourTris worshipers *chuckle*. obviously the baby will be born next year, but there's still stuff to sort out. Don't hate me too much, but I love to tease you a little. But if you want some FourTris family bliss read Moments we share which I started especially for all of you who want FourTris babies. And for the kinky ones among you I've posted Fourgasm and Better then Dauntless cake.
> 
> Now... What did you think of the fighting scene?
> 
> And what about that creep Jeremy?
> 
> Also, what would you say if I would make Monica fight Jeremy?
> 
> And more importantly what's up with her?


	70. Chapter 70

70

It's Friday. Today we'll let the initiates fight each other. First we will randomly pick names out of a bowl and let two girls fight each other and then boys. And after lunch we will pick one girl and one boy to fight. The first fight is between two boys, Sean and Frank. They are both about the same height and are muscular and look like any of them could win.

They both enter the ring and take their stances. Unlike the girls the boys use the same fighting stances all the Dauntless initiates learned and used before them, even me. But the girls have a few extra tricks up their sleeves. Sean attacks first but Frank blocks. Then Frank takes out to punch, but unfortunately leaves his ribs unprotected by doing so. Sean manages to hit him hard in the side and Frank looses balance for a moment, but avoids falling over. He attacks again and Sean blocks him. Then Sean attacks by kicking Frank in the stomach. Frank falls backwards and lands ungracefully on his butt. Sean waits for him to get up again and a moment later Frank stands tall again. He circles Sean for a while seemingly trying to figure out where to hit to cause some damage on his opponent. I watch Sean and see him limp a little. It's hard to see if you aren't looking, but Sean must have hurt his left leg. Frank must have seen it too because the next kick is directed toward Sean's hip. While Sean stumbles back Frank lunges toward him and punches him in the jaw and finishes by kicking his legs from under him. The fight is over. Frank wins. We all cheer and applaud and wait for them to clear the ring for the next fight.

The next fight is between Kaylee and Jessica. They both take their stances, just as Lauren and I taught them and start circling each other. They have already fought each other and relatively know what the other thinks and does during a fight. But it's interesting to see if they will change anything. Kaylee attacks first and lands a hit on Jessica's jaw. Jessica regains her balance quickly and starts her own attack, only to be blocked by Kaylee. Immediately after blocking Kaylee kicks Jessica in the stomach making her fall down. However she doesn't stay down for long jumping up and kicking Kaylee's feet from under her. Kaylee rolls over and gets up only to get hit in the right hip by Jessica who uses the moment and strikes Kaylee in the jaw. She stumbles again and falls down. Jessica lunges at her keeping her pinned down making her the winner.

We continue we these fights until lunch time. We leave the training room together and tell the initiates to be back at two p.m. like every day. Tobias and I sit at our regular table with our friends talking about the initiates and how well or bad they're fighting.

"I think the guys will win this" Uriah says and I raise my eyebrow.

"And that's based on?" I ask curious.

"Because they are guys" he says and all the girls at our table scoff.

"Do I have to remind you that a girl ranked first in your initiate class?" Lynn asks him.

"That's different. That's Tris" he says.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Christina asks.

"She's divergent. Of course she is better" Uriah says and Tobias interjects.

"So are you, last time I checked" he says and we laugh.

"Well, maybe I let her rank first" Uriah continues this silly game.

"Oh, come on" we all say.

"Are you saying it was only because of you that I ranked first?" I ask him.

"Me and Four, but he had the hots for you" Uriah says.

"That's not true" Tobias says and I look at him. "I had the hots for you, babe, but you didn't rank first because of that. She earned it and you know it, Uriah. Now cut the crap and eat your food" Tobias says with authority and Uriah obliges.

"I think it's a matter of how they present themselves during an actual fight" Lauren says and I agree. "Some of them were better during training, but to our surprise lost during the fights today."

"Same happened with the guys" Tobias says.

"Things aren't always what they seem" Zeke says.

"Wow, that's deep Pedrad" Lynn says mockingly. "I guess fatherhood becomes you."

"Yep" he says popping the "p".

We keep talking about the initiates and how eager we are to see them fight. Our group decides to stop by for a few fights between boys and girls after lunch break. But then Tobias's phone buzzes and he groans. He was just enjoying some Dauntless cake and is now forced to leave it to answer his phone. He looks at the caller ID and smiles.

"Hey mom" he says silent enough for only me to hear him. He holds the phone so that I can hear as well.

"Hey, sweetheart. Are you busy? It's very loud there" she says chuckling.

"Tris and I are at lunch in the cafeteria and well it's Dauntless" he says laughing lightly.

"Tris is there too?" she asks and I can hear the smile in her voice.

"Yep. Hi Evelyn" I say.

"Hi sweetheart. Good. I wanted to invite you two for lunch on Sunday" she says. I look at Tobias and he smiles at me expectantly.

"Thanks. We'll be there" I say.

"Wonderful. And I have a surprise for you" she says. "Well two actually."

"What is it, mom?" he asks.

"You'll find out on Sunday. I'll let you go back to your lunch. I love you, Tobias" she says and he smiles brightly. I think letting Evelyn back in his life was the best thing he could have done. He really missed her. He missed having a mom, someone who cared for him. Well, other than me.

"I love you too, mom" he says.

"And I love you too, Beatrice" she says and Tobias looks at me, his smile even wider than before. The fact that Evelyn and I get along makes him really happy. I know that if he would have to choose he would chose me and I would do the same. I love my parents but I would always choose him.

"Love you too, Evelyn. See you on Sunday" I say and he hangs up.

It's one p.m. when we finish lunch and Tobias and I go home until we have to meet up with the initiates. We just sit on the couch enjoying our little break from the world. We kiss occasionally, trying very hard not to let our desire taking over us, since we don't have enough time for any of that. However, my handsome husband has other plans since I feel his already hard cock through the fabric of his jeans. He presses me into the couch cushions but I can't bring myself to stop him. He hovers over me kissing my lips and running his right hand over my body.

"Tobias, baby, don't" I pant, although my words are unconvincing.

"You don't want me?" he asks, although he knows that's not true. I always want him.

"Baby, I want you so much that I think I'm gonna come by just looking at you" I say boldly and he laughs a little.

"Good to know I have such an effect on you, my beautiful wife."

"Shut up" I say.

"With pleasure" he replies and kisses me passionately. We make out for a long while, the desire building exponentially. Just as he moves to remove my pants his phone buzzes. "God damn it. Can't I fuck my wife in peace?" he asks and I chuckle. He pulls out his phone and groans.

"Who is it?" I ask.

"No one. The alarm. I set it to remind us to meet up with the initiates" he explains. "To be continued" he says with a mischievous grin on his face.

"You can bet your cute butt, mister."

We get up and straighten our clothes before we head down to the training room. We greet the initiates and enter the room. As before we use bowls to pick out the contestants. Later on we will make shorter initiates fight taller ones, stronger against weak and so on. But right now we pick them randomly.

We start picking out names. I pick from the bowl with the girl names and Tobias from the one that holds the boy names. I look at the small paper in my hand and call out her name. Jessica. Tobias does the same and says Michael. We let them step up into the ring and they take their stances. Michael is much taller and muscular than Jessica, but she is quick and knows how to exploit her opponent's strengths and make them into weaknesses. It's quite impressive. They start by circling each other. I can tell that Michael is holding back, thinking he would hurt this poor girl in front of him.

"Will you stop staring at me and start already" Jessica shouts after a minute of doing nothing.

"Why don't you start?" he asks back.

"Why don't any of you start already?" Lauren asks exasperated. "You, boy, hit her, she's not made out of glass. And you, Jessica, stop playing around. Just kick his sorry ass."

"What if he kicks hers?" Uriah asks.

"In your dreams, loser" Lauren snaps back.

"Guys, please" Tobias says pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to hold back a chuckle.

"Come on, Jessica" the girls cheer.

Michael retracts his foot trying to get into position, but Jessica drops to the ground and kicks his feet from under him. He falls backwards and groans. The girls cheer even louder. Michael gets up quickly and lunges at her, but Jessica is quick and the scene before us looks like someone tries to catch a fish with his bare hands. It's hilarious actually.

"That all you got?" Jessica asks mockingly.

"Jessica, how many times do I have to tell you not to mock those who are weaker than you?" I ask and Tobias glances my way.

"Yeah, what do we do when someone's weaker girls?" Lauren asks.

"Teach them to be stronger" they say in unison and smile.

"That's right" I say.

"What's that all about?" Tobias asks.

"We taught the girls to help each other even when they fight. Being Dauntless means more than just beating up your opponent. It means fair play and be both a good loser and a humble winner" I say loud so that all can hear me.

"Now, Jessica, kick some sorry dude ass" Lauren says and Jessica just does that. Michael tries to land a punch or a kick and I can tell he isn't holding back anymore, but Jessica is good and very agile. He's got no chance. When he lunges at her and we think he will hit her she lets herself drop to the ground as if getting punched, but then she kicks her right foot up, hitting him in the groin and he stumbles backwards. The girls cheer loudly and applaud the success of their friend and co-initiate.

"Jessica wins" Tobias says loudly.

"What the fuck was that?" Uriah.

"That, my loser friend, is how girls rank first" Lauren says.

"Ugh" comes from Uriah and we laugh.

The next few fights are similar. At first the boys avoid hitting the girls, but then realize that they aren't as fragile as they thought. Some fights are won by girls, others by boys. The last fight is between Monica and Jeremy. They both step into the ring but I can tell Monica isn't her usual cheerful self. She is afraid, genuinely afraid of him. I wonder what happened to her. I avoided talking about it because she seemed better. I even thought I imagined things, but here we are and she has that haunted look on her face, just like on Monday when we talked and Jeremy suddenly appeared.

Both of them take their stances and circle each other. I can tell she is very tensed. Her entire being is in defense mode and I wonder why.

"Tobias, can you hear me?" I ask in my mind, trying to connect with his.

"Yes" he says and glances my way.

"Something's wrong" I say.

"I figured. You never do this unless you want it to be just between the two of us. What is it, love?" he asks.

"Look at them. Doesn't it seem odd to you?" I say vaguely. I want to see if he sees the same thing or if I'm just imagining it. I glance at him and he looks careful at the scene before him. Then Jeremy attacks and hits Monica in the ribs. Monica flinched even before he came close enough to hit her.

"She's scared of him" Tobias says.

"So I'm not imagining things. I thought so too. Whenever he's around she is quiet and scared. When he's not around she's cheerful and chatty. Remember what Christina said after we returned from our honeymoon?" I ask and he thinks for a moment.

"She said Monica fell. You don't believe that?" he asks and looks at me.

"Do you? Look at her. Remember when Peter, Drew and Al attacked me? I had many more bruises from less. Imagine someone falling down stairs. She would have at least bruised her bones, if not actually broken them" I say and see Tobias greet his teeth. Oops, I mentioned the incident. "Honey, breathe. It's in the past. You saved me" I say trying to make him calm down.

"I can't. The sole thought of what those bastards tried to do makes me angry" he says and stares at me.

We are both startled when Jeremy picks her up and she starts thrashing and crying. He lets her fall to the ground and prepares to attack when I stop him, by shouting "Stop". He stops and looks at me. "Winner is Jeremy" I declare to make this stop. "Kaylee, Jessica, please take Monica to the infirmary" I tell them. They look at me for a second but then nod and take her. Since it's supper time we dismiss the initiates and I start walking out of the training room.

"Where are you going?" Tobias asks, after he locked the door and sees that I'm heading in the opposite direction of the cafeteria.

"The infirmary to see Monica" I say.

"About that. Why did you send her there? It's not like she got seriously injured" Tobias says confused but walks with me.

"She cried when he picked her up. I watched her carefully. Every time he came near her she flinched and backed away. Something's up and I want to know what it is" I say. We walk in silence and I'm grateful that he is here, holding my hand and comforting me.

We enter the infirmary and ask to see Monica. She is lying on a bed, her face is stained with tears. Tobias wants to enter but I stop him.

"Wait here. I got to know her and she trusts me" I say and he nods taking a seat outside. "Hey, Monica" I say.

"Hey" she says but doesn't look at me.

"Are you okay?" I ask in a soft voice.

"Why did you send me here?" she asks, a hint of anger in her voice.

"I thought you might be hurt" I say and she turns to look at me incredulous.

"He barely hit me" she says.

"That might be true. But didn't you fall down the stairs last week?" I ask and she looks at me shocked.

"Uhm… yeah… I fell" she stutters.

"Really? I wanted to ask you something. Where exactly did you fall?" I ask her, being more sure than ever that she lied.

"Uhm, near the cafeteria" she says.

"Oh" I say. That's a crowded place. "Who helped you?" I ask and she looks at me confused.

"Someone. I don't know the name" she says. It's understandable. She's only been here for a few weeks. Even I don't know everyone by name and I'm their leader.

"Man or woman?" I ask.

"Why is that important?" she asks avoiding my question.

"I want to thank that person. You are my initiate and it happened while I wasn't here. The least I can do is shake that person's hand. Although I realize that you might not be the right person to tell me. I will check with the doctor who treated you. What's the name of the doctor?"

"Uhm, I don't know" she says, avoiding looking at me.

"Alright. I'll check the entry log and see who was on call that day and who treated you. It won't take long anyway" I say and her head snaps toward me. She has tears in her eyes and her look is haunted. Something definitely bad happened to her.

"Please, don't" she says, barely above a whisper. I sit down next to her on her bed and tale her hand in mine.

"I want to help you. I know you didn't fall and I also know it has something to do with Jeremy. I won't force you to tell me, but if you need someone, please know that I'm here for you and you can trust me" I say. She looks at me for a moment and then she starts crying. She buries her head in my chest and sobs violently. I hold her tightly and rub her back, trying to comfort her the best I can. I think we stay like this for a while because I can feel Tobias trying to make contact with me.

"Is everything alright, honey? You've been in there for a long time" he says.

"Something happened, but she doesn't want to talk. She's crying and I'm letting her. Go, eat supper. I'll join you when I'm done here."

"I'm not leaving without you" he firmly says.

"Honey, you're hungry. There's nothing you can do here. Please, do it for me" I tell him. I can feel him sigh and then he agrees. He leaves the infirmary and the connection breaks down.

Monica finally relaxes in my arms and I let her lie back down. She keeps her eyes closed and I can't figure out what happened to her. Maybe Jeremy tried the same thing Peter did. I remember that night as if it just happened. I was on my way back to the dorms when I got attacked. I can still remember Peter's hands all over my body and Al's face when I pulled the mask off. He looked stunned. He was surprised that I fought back the way I did. But what was I supposed to do? Let them throw me into the chasm? Or abuse me? I'm sure that if it wasn't for Tobias I wouldn't be here now. He really saved my life. I decide to tell her what happened to me and maybe she will feel confident enough to tell me what happened to her.

"I won't ask you anything else, but I will tell you what happened to me" I say and she looks at me. "When I was an initiate, I already told you this part, ranking was much more important than it is today. If you didn't rank high enough you would become factionless, a fear that drove many to do stupid and criminal things. One of my fellow initiates got stabbed in the eye for ranking first up until then. After he got kicked out because he couldn't finish his training everyone started to move up at least one position. Then phase two of training started. During phase two some of us were better than during phase one. So was I. I started moving up and some of my fellow initiates thought they needed to get rid of me. So one evening I was attacked in a more obscure corridor and dragged toward the chasm. They almost managed to throw me in, when Four appeared and helped me. I'm sure that if it wouldn't have been for him I would be dead now" I tell her and she cries again. I can't tell if she feels sorry for me or maybe something similar happened to her. "The worst part however was not the attack itself, but the fact that one of my three attackers was someone I considered to be my friend. Al. They all wore masks, but he had this scent on him of lemongrass that I only smelled on him. When I realized that I snatched the mask off his head and saw him. He was surprised, but didn't let go until Four came and punched him hard. He managed to run away, while the others were beaten up. The next day Al tried to apologize, but I wouldn't listen. I called him a coward and told him that I would kill him if he ever came close to me again. He killed himself shortly after that, by jumping into the chasm." By now Monica cries silent tears. She looks at me and tries to form words, but she can't.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you" she says.

"You don't have to be. I survived and so did you. When you are ready know that you can talk to me. I won't push you, but if Jeremy did something he needs to be punished" I say. "Stay here tonight. Get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow" I say and get up. I squeeze her hand one more time before I leave the room. I close the door behind me and make my way to the cafeteria. I must have taken a wrong turn, while looking over the messages on my phone, because I end up on a hallway I don't recognize. I turn back around but bump into someone.

"Ouch" I say.

"Hey there, Tris" I hear Jeremy's voice.

"Jeremy, what are you doing here?" I ask him irritated.

"Walking around" he says and grins.

"Shouldn't you be in the cafeteria eating your supper?" I ask and try to walk passed him but he blocks the way.

"I can't really enjoy my food when your boyfriend keeps glaring at me" he hisses.

"Four is not my boyfriend. He is my husband. Now move" I say angry.

"Yeah, about that. I was wondering. Why exactly did you guys get hitched? Did he knock you up? Is there a little bundle of joy in your oven?" he asks and places his hand over my stomach. I push his hand away and try to leave this corridor.

"Don't touch me. Now move before I punch you" I say.

"Ah, you aren't as scary as Four" he says sneering. "Besides I think we could have some fun together, now that he's not here to disturb us."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't pretend you don't know. I know you want me Tris. I've seen it. But we can never get close because your stupid boyfriend always lurks around" he says and takes a step closer, pinning me to the wall behind me. "Admit it, you're attracted to me, Tris" he says and comes closer to my face, trying to kiss me. This isn't happening. But then it hits me.

"I know what you did to Monica" I say and he pulls back shocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The initiates finally showed what they've learned so far. What did you think of the fights?
> 
> Next in their initiation is Capture the flag. in the books they use paint balls, while in the movie neuro-stim darts. Which one do you prefer?
> 
> What do you think of the training method Tris and Lauren use on the girls?
> 
> What happened to Monica? Did someone (Jeremy) try to kill her?
> 
> Did Tris really figure out what happened to Monica?
> 
> I'm waiting for your opinions.
> 
> Check out my lemon one-shot License and registration, please. 
> 
> Love ya all. 4


	71. Chapter 71

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm overwhelmed with happiness. When I posted chapter 68 this story was viewed by you guys 65000 times. Today I checked again and I've almost reached 71000 views. This is so great. This is the best encouragement I can think of. The fact that you read it and come back to check if there is anything more is heart warming and special to me. I started writing this story because obviously I had a problem with Allegiant and needed to make thinks right (you know what I mean). i never once thought that you would stick around almost five months after I posted the first chapter. Therefore, I want to thank you so much.
> 
> I'll keep writing until I run out of ideas. It's always helpful when you guys review because then I know if you liked something or not and I can decide whether I continue that way or not. Some of you came with great questions and excellent suggestions. Some were integrated, others don't. Nevertheless, I want to thank you for your input and support.
> 
> The best thing about fan fiction and sites like this one is that you, the readers, can tell the author, me, exactly what you think. We communicate directly. And even though it's my decision in the end we can always trade ideas and come up with awesome and exciting plot twists.
> 
> That's it so far.
> 
> Enjoy!

71

Jeremy pulls back and looks at me incredulous. He keeps staring at me trying to assess if I'm telling the truth or not, but over the months as leader and council member I've learned to put on a poker face or how I call it a "Four-face".

"I didn't do anything to Monica" he says pulling back even more, leaving enough space between us for another person to stand there.

"Yeah, you did and I'm going to make sure you will get punished" I say confident. His eyes widen and for a split second I see fear, but then it is replaced with something else. Something dangerous.

"I didn't do anything she didn't want. She threw herself at me. What was I supposed to do? I'm a young man and she's just a whore" he says and now I know. He abused her. He raped her. I need to stay cool. I can't let him know that he just confessed to something I didn't even know happened.

"You will have to answer in front the authorities, who to your extreme misfortune are none other than me and Four" I say. He looks at me surprised, but then glares. He grits his teeth and clenches his fists.

"We'll see about that" he says and lunges toward me. But I'm a trained soldier, I know how to defend myself. I grab his arm twist it until I hear a snap. It's not broken, I only dislocated his shoulder. However, when he tries to kick me in the stomach I defend and kick his own feet from under him. Just for good measure I step hard on his leg, breaking the bone in the process and making sure he won't be able to escape. Just as I take out my phone to call Dwayne to send some guards over here I see Tobias coming from around the corner, followed by Dwayne and four guards.

"Tris" Tobias shouts when he sees me. He runs toward me and embraces me tightly, peppering my head with kisses. "Thank God, you are alright" he sighs in relief.

"Help" Jeremy whines. "She attacked me" he says accusingly and Tobias turns around and grabs him by his collar. It takes Dwayne and one of the guards to make Tobias let go.

"Take that lowlife to the infirmary and stand guard" Dwayne commands his men and Tobias turns around to look at me. He looks me up and down and crashes his lips over mine. We ignore everyone else around us and just kiss for a moment. When we part we stare into each other's eyes.

"How did you know where I was?" I ask confused.

"Zeke called me. He was just heading to the cafeteria when he saw you wandering around, not paying attention. He was about to call you to tell you took the wrong turn, he assumed you wanted to go to the cafeteria, but then saw Jeremy follow you. He called me and I called Dwayne. We came here as quick as we could. Thank God we were here in time" he says and kisses my temple.

"Yeah, imagine how that little shit would have looked like if we would have let Tris beat him more up" Dwayne says with a chuckle. At that Tobias looks up at Dwayne and gives him a questioning look. "Man, you are so in love with your wife you didn't even notice that she beat the crap out of that little prick" he says now laughing.

"I didn't even notice that" he says and looks at me.

"Of course you didn't. You went all caveman and came to my rescue. But guess what? This cavewoman can take care of herself" I say chuckling and he laughs.

"I know, babe."

"Do I even need to know?" Dwayne asks.

"Nope" Tobias and I say at the same time, but then his expression changes to a more serious one. "I want two guards at all times guarding Jeremy. Don't leave him out of your sight under any circumstances" Tobias orders.

"Understood" he says and he and the two remaining guards leave. Tobias takes my hand and leads me back home. We remain quiet the whole walk. The moment we are inside our apartment he picks me up in his arms and holds me tightly to him, seemingly unable to let me go even after I asked him.

"He could have hurt you and I wasn't there" he says setting me down.

"No he couldn't have. Tobias, I'm more than capable to protect myself. How many times do I have to repeat this?" I ask irritated. "I know you got scared but I'm fine. Not only did you teach me well during initiation, but I'm also improving every time I train with the girls. This is why I wanted you to spar with me" I say.

"I'm not going to fight you" he sternly says.

"I'm not asking that. How about we spar together without actually hitting. I mean, let's just simulate the blows and let me show you how I defend. Afterwards we can ask Lauren to actually hit me" I say.

"I don't know, honey."

"Tobias, please, this way you will see how I act during fights" I insist.

"Alright, fine. But I won't hit you and if you attack that way I'll just leave the ring. Understood?" he asks furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yes, sir" I say saluting him. He chuckles and kisses my lips.

"You're crazy" he says.

"I know. I'm crazy about you, my love" I say wrapping my arms around his neck and he snakes his arms around my waist pulling me closer to him.

"I love you, Tris" he softly says before lowering his mouth to meet mine.

"I love you too, Tobias" I say before our lips meet. We kiss gently for a few moments, before passion takes over us and we melt into the kiss. But I remember what happened not twenty minutes ago and pull away. Tobias groans and looks confused into my eyes. "We need to talk about something. You won't like it" I say and grab his hand. We sit down on the couch in the living room and I prepare myself to speak out loud those words. "I've talked a long while with Monica, but she refused to tell me what happened to her. I thought if I'd tell her about what happened to me she would open up, but she just kept crying. I decided not to push it further and let her come to me. But when I was on my way to you I took a wrong turn and ended up in that hallway. Jeremy came on to me and the things he said made me think. I was sure that he had something to do with what happened to Monica so I laid down a trap and he walked right in. He basically admitted his crime" I say but stop. This is more difficult than I thought.

"What crime?" Tobias asks apprehensive.

"I think he raped her" I say and Tobias looks both shocked and angry. He stands up and paces around for a while before turning to look at me.

"That little shit. How could he?" Tobias rages on. I let him be. He's right to be upset and I'm thankful he isn't anywhere near Jeremy right now, because I'm sure he would kill him. Tobias is a real man that doesn't need to take a woman by force. Even when we have passionate and somewhat rough sex he is still making sure I'm fine and unharmed and that I get the most of it. I'm really lucky. Having had an abusive father he knows better than anyone what something like this can do to someone. Even though it's not the same thing, the emotional pain is still there and it's deeply embedded. If Monica was indeed raped by him she needs to speak up so that we can arrest him and turn him over to the council for punishment. "We need to go to the infirmary to take Monica's statement" he says and walks toward the door.

"Stop, Tobias. You can't" I say running after him. He stops and turns around looking at me confused.

"What? Why not? We need to get her statement" he says firmly.

"We can't. She never said he raped her. I only assume that. She never said anything and he never used the word rape or abuse or anything. We can't just go in and demand that she gives a statement about something as traumatic as this" I tell him. I pull him away from the door and we sit back down. "Look, I'll talk to her tomorrow. She trusts me and I don't want to ambush her. He is in the infirmary and with that broken leg he won't be able to leave. Also, Dwayne's men will watch him 24/7 so he won't be able to escape. I'll call Jack tomorrow morning and ask for an emergency council meeting. I don't know what the proper protocol in these situations is. The fact that he came on to me and you obviously dislike him might become problematic. I will ask Tori to supervise the investigation and seek advice from my fellow council members regarding this problem" I tell him.

"Spoken like a true politician" he says with a chuckle. "I think it's better that way. You go and talk to Monica and I'll call Jack and your dad and ask them over."

"Thank you" I say and lean in and kiss him.

"Let me make you something to eat. You've skipped supper after all" he says and gets up. "What sounds good?"

"How about some pizza?" I ask.

"Coming right up. Why don't you take a shower and get yourself comfortable?" he asks and I nod. I walk up the stairs and head into our bedroom. I open my dresser and pick out some black satin shorts and a satin camisole and a black thong. I walk into the bathroom and turn on the water. I wait a moment for it to warm enough and step inside, closing the shower door behind me. I let the warm spray wash away the anxiety of today and allow it to relax me so much that I don't even register that Tobias enters the shower completely naked.

"What are you doing here?" I ask with a small laugh when he embraces me and pulls me toward him.

"You've been up here for almost an hour" he says. I turn in his arms and give him a questioning look.

"Really? I haven't even noticed" I say.

"I could tell. You didn't even hear me when I entered, even though I tripped and your body lotion fell from the sink" he says with a chuckle.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where were you anyway?"

"I was thinking about today and all the things we've learned so far. Tomorrow will be a very long day. Tobias, I have no idea how to talk to Monica about this. When I realized something was up with her I hoped that it might have been something like what happened to me. Not that that would have been any better" I say.

"I know, baby. But you are a lot better with people than I am" he says.

"I know. I want her to talk, not shrink away" I say and smack his shoulder lightly.

"Hey, I'm not that bad" he says.

"Not with me" I tease.

"Hey" he pouts and picks me up pressing me against the tile wall. I wrap my legs around his waist and draw his mouth to mine, kissing him passionately. We let go of each other to breathe for a moment before we resume the assault on the other's lips.

"I need you" I pant. "Please, make love to me" I manage to say before I feel his hard cock at my entrance.

"I need you too" he says before thrusting deep into me. We both moan loudly into the kiss and allow ourselves to cherish this intimate connection. After a few moments of just staring into each other's eyes and kissing softly he starts pulling out of me. His almost completely out when he thrusts full force back in, making me arch my back. Tobias captures a nipple and starts sucking on it lightly. I let out a soft moan and I can feel him grin against my skin. He repeats the slow, yet deep thrusts until the pleasure we both feel is so intense that neither of us can hold back anymore. He increases his pace and his thrusts become quicker and shallower. I hold onto him for dear life riding wave after wave of pure pleasure until he tenses and then releases his seed deep inside me. We both moan each other's name as we come together and sink down to the ground, the water hitting us were we sit. We catch our breaths and then kiss each other tenderly, making sure not to ignite the fire again.

"I love you, Tobias."

"I love you too, Tris."

We get up after another minute of just sitting there and finish our shower. Like so many other times before we wash each other and just laugh and have some innocent fun. When we're finally done we get dressed in our sleepwear and head downstairs. Tobias serves me some pizza, which he left in the oven to keep warm. I pour us some orange juice and cut him some cake after he cleans up the island. We sit on the couch watching some old movie and just relish the fact that we are together, home, safe and sound and very much in love.

We wake up the next morning later than usual. Tobias texted Uriah yesterday evening and asked him to tell the initiates that training will start later and they will spar and fight again. Uriah and Lauren will be in charge today since Tobias and I need to take care of the Jeremy problem. We eat a light breakfast and head downstairs to the infirmary. Tobias already called Jack and my dad while I was getting ready telling them about our suspicions, but asked them to keep quiet. Tobias and I split up when we are in the infirmary. I knock on Monica's door and enter when she says so.

"Good morning, Monica" I say.

"Morning, Tris" she says a little more cheerful today.

"How are you feeling?" I ask her and sit down on her bed.

"Good, actually."

"I'm glad to hear that. I want to talk to you about something" I say and her expression changes to a more serious and guarded one. She looks away, effectively avoiding my gaze. "I know you don't want to talk about what really happened, but you should. Especially now" I say and her head snaps in my direction.

"Why? What happened?" she asks curious.

"Jeremy attacked me last night" I say and her eyes widen in shock. She looks me up and down, trying to figure out if what I say is the truth. "He came onto me and I rejected him. When he didn't get what he wanted he pinned me to a wall and tried to force himself on me. But I'm a trained soldier and beat the crap out of him. He is actually in the infirmary right now" I finish saying and her face changes from stunned to frightened. "Don't worry. He can't hurt you. I dislocated his shoulder and it will take some time to heal before he can even move a spoon to his mouth. I also broke his leg. He won't be able to walk for a while" I say with a half laugh.

"I'm glad you did that. He deserves it" she says both hateful and scared.

"He does. During our argument he told me or at least hinted toward what he did to you. You can choose not to talk, but I intend to force truth serum down his throat to get to the bottom of this. He committed a crime and deserves to be punished according to the law. If you don't want everyone to know what happened I can make that happen. We can go to my office where you will testify. Your testimony will remain between those walls. But there will be people present. Me, Four and Tori, since we are the Dauntless leaders, some of the council members, as well as Jeremy's lawyer, if he chooses to get one. Jeremy won't be in the room. I'll make sure of that. But he will be put under truth serum and we will know what happened" I tell her. She turns away again and remains quiet for a long while.

"I just want this to be over" she says defeated.

"I know. But it won't unless you face it. What happened to you is bad, but it's even worse that you don't do anything for yourself to heal. I can help you and if you think you can't talk to me because it's too personal, I can arrange that you get help. Don't be afraid. I'm here for you."

"Not very Dauntless of me" she says scoffing.

"Being Dauntless means more than you think. Fear is a funny thing" I say and she looks at me with a quizzical look on her face. "Many believe that being Dauntless means being fearless, but it doesn't. It means to stand up and fight those fears, embrace them as part of one's self and turn them from weakness into strength. But sometimes even the strongest person needs a rock to lean on. Whatever you decide I won't judge you. I just want to help you." She starts crying and I wrap her in my arms, trying to comfort her as best as I can. We remain like that for at least ten minutes before her tears start to subside. She wipes them away and looks up at me. Her eyes are red and puffy, but I can see a determinant look in her eyes.

"I want to testify" she says. Thank God.

"Alright. There are few things that need to be taken care of. You will be discharged soon. I want you to go to the training room and stick around Lauren. I'll text her that I want her to watch over you. I won't say anything else, I promise."

"Thank you, Tris" she says and hugs me tightly.

"It's okay. You'll be fine."

I leave her alone and walk toward the room where I know Jeremy is held. I ask the guards if Tobias is still in there and they tell me he went to his office. They also ask if I'm alright and congratulate me on beating that little creep up. I shake their hands, since it's customary here in Dauntless and walk to the Pire. I knock on Tobias's door and he immediately tells me to enter. I enter and to my surprise find both my dad and Jack already there, as well as Zeke and Dwayne. When Tobias sees me he smiles before putting on his Four mask.

"Sweetheart, thank God you are alright" my dad says.

"Hi, dad. Yeah, I'm fine" I say and hug him.

"I'd say she's better than fine, Mr. Prior" Zeke says smirking. "She kicked ass like the badass Dauntless that she is" he adds and Jack and Dwayne laugh whole heartily.

"At least now you guys take me seriously" I say.

"Oh, I've taken you seriously ever since you ranked first last year" Zeke says.

"Me too. Why do you think Dauntless chose you to lead us?" Dwayne asks and I blush.

"Maybe we should go back to business, before my wife ignites from embarrassment" Tobias says chuckling.

I explain to them that I've convinced Monica to testify, but under certain conditions. Given the gravity of the crime and the emotional impact on the victim no one seems to have a problem.

"This matter needs to remain as quiet as possible, for Monica's sake" I say.

"I disagree" Dwayne says and we look at him.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I agree that Monica's identity should remain protected, but the people need to know what happened. They need to know that that little scumbag abused someone and would do it again" he argues.

"We can't go around and tell people that he abused someone if that someone doesn't want people to know" I say.

"But he committed a crime, not the victim" Dwayne argues, without raising his voice.

"That's irrelevant. She feels guilty. She feels like she was responsible for it. In her mind she knows that's not true, but her entire being wants to forget it ever happened. You can't understand that unless it happened to you" I say and I feel a tear roll down my cheek.

"What are you saying, Beatrice?" my father asks shocked. "Did something like this happen to you?" he asks and I can hear fear in his voice.

"Something similar and yet different" I say vaguely and look at Tobias. He knows what I mean.

"During initiation she was attacked and almost thrown into the chasm. I was thankfully nearby when I heard her scream. I took her to my apartment and took care of her that night, but she felt guilty. She felt like she disappointed her friend, who was one of her assailants. I tried to explain it to her and I know she understood, but the Abnegation in her wanted to forgive" he says with a half smile.

"Oh my God" I hear my dad gasp.

"Don't worry, dad. I'm fine. And like Four said, he saved me. But now I'm a lot stronger and tougher and can take care of myself" I say but my dad ignores me and walks over to Tobias. He hugs him tightly.

"Thank you, son" he says chocked up.

"Don't worry, Andrew. As long as I live she will be safe" Tobias solemnly vows.

"Hello? I'm still here and I can take care of myself" I say but they still ignore me.

"I know she is all grown up now and strong and I'm proud of her, but she will always be my little Beatrice, my little sunshine and I will always worry. When you will have children you'll understand. You think worrying about your wife is heartbreaking, wait till you have kids" my dad says and Tobias smiles at him.

"I know. But I wouldn't change it for the world" Tobias says.

"Hello? Seriously. Am I a ghost?" I ask and Zeke and Jack laugh, while Dwayne chuckles discreetly.

"Oh, relax, sweetheart. We know you are tough" my dad says and winks at Tobias who gives him a look that says isn't she cute when she thinks she is tougher than us.

"You guys suck" I say and pout, which makes Zeke laugh even harder.

After they all calm down we establish a few rules. During Monica's interrogation, which will be under truth serum, only a select few will be in the room and it will take place in my office. Jeremy's interrogation will be held also behind closed doors and under truth serum as well. We decide to call the council to preside the matter and Jack offers to talk to a defense lawyer. That way Jeremy or anyone can't claim due process violation. We decide to prepare everything for Monday morning. Monica's interrogation will take place here in Dauntless, in my office and Jeremy will be transferred today to a Candor holding cell. The only person allowed in is his lawyer. We also decided to inform the faction of his crime after Monica's interrogation. This way no one will know who Jeremy assaulted, unless she decides to speak up.

Tobias and I thank my dad and Jack for coming and for their help in this matter. Zeke and Dwayne already left and Jack had to answer a phone call. My dad stayed behind.

"I would like to invite you two tomorrow for lunch" dad says.

"Thanks, dad. But we already promised Evelyn to visit her tomorrow" I say.

"Oh, that's not a problem. Maybe next Sunday. Tell Evelyn I said hi" he says smiling.

"We will. And you tell Natalie hi from us" Tobias says, wrapping one arm around my waist.

We say goodbye to my dad and Jack and watch them as they leave. Tobias checks his watch and tells me it's almost lunch time. We head to the cafeteria where most of the faction is already gathered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Many of you already guessed what happened to Monica. i hope you don't hate me for that. But sometimes going through something that can break you apart can also make you stronger. you know what they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But it's up to each individual if that is true or not. We'll see.
> 
> I decided against a long "beat the shit out of Jeremy" scene. Like I said, Tris is a soldier, unlike Jeremy. He might be taller and maybe stronger, but during a fight that's not all it takes to win. Tris trained herself to know about weak spots and uses them to her advantage. i thought it would be dumb to stretch a scene that we already knew how it would end. I know that some of you would have wanted a long fighting scene, in which Tris beats him senseless, but this way, i think, I showed her superiority. Not only as a female soldier, but also as a human being. She knows how to fight and how to win. Why rub it in a scumbags face? 
> 
> Of course, I'm glad to hear your opinions on this matter as well.
> 
> BTW I've posted a picture of Tris's camisole and shorts set on Pinterest.


	72. Chapter 72

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi there. I'm sorry I didn't upload this yesterday as scheduled. Had some stuff I needed to finish. But I did post three drabbles in Moments we share. Check them out.
> 
> To the guest who reviewed the chapter with the "cake incident" and thought it was disgusting, as well as the painting - I'm sorry you feel that way, but honestly I can't see your point. I appreciate your critic though. And since we talk about critics, a few of you pointed out that I lately indulged in too much smut. I've noted it and will keep that in mind for the next chapters. If I ever overdue it, please don't hesitate to tell me.
> 
> This is why I love this so much. Readers can actively help me grow as a writer, which is amazing. You guys are amazing. Thank you so much.
> 
> Another guest complained about the "honey"'s and the "love"'s. Well, they are terms of endearment. I don't believe that just because they are seventeen and nineteen they need to say "babe" or "baby" or the newer "bae" (by the way, what's up with the bae-thing? Is babe or baby suddenly to long of a word to pronounce fully? Maybe I'm just too old).
> 
> To all of you who don't want Tris pregnant - I kinda share your feelings and yet I don't. Time is relative, as Einstein once stated. I've seen women, young as in sixteen, seventeen who turned out to be great moms, while women over thirty for instance just sucked at it. Of course, it's a ton of work, but still. As for Tris in particular, she might be young, but let's face it. She doesn't live in our world. What exactly does she want or have to accomplish before becoming a mom? College? No colleges there. A good job? She's a leader and a council member. Getting married? Already did that. There's never a right time. I'm not going to postpone a pregnancy much longer, because it fits into this story. And another thing. Disregard Roth's Tris Prior. She doesn't exist in this story. My Tris is based on the original, but what she went through in YAMATW is different from Roth's story line. Obviously, my Tris evolved differently. Think about it and comment.

72

Tobias and I decided to take the train to the factionless sector to visit his mom. We could have taken the car, but it's like boasting. They have the bare necessities, while we live in luxury. Well, not really, but still more than they have.

We patiently wait in the door of the train for it to slow down. When we're finally close I take a few steps back and run toward the exit, jumping and spinning in the air landing on my feet.

"How did you do that?" Tobias asks impressed.

"I've got my secrets" I say with a smirk.

"I thought we don't have any" he says teasingly before wrapping an arm around my middle.

"Well, some secrets need to remain secret. You know for the mystery in the relationship" I say quoting something Christina said to Will a few weeks ago, when he asked about a piercing she got. I won't say where she got it, but it's not some place I would want one. Tobias laughs loudly.

"Did she tell you where she got it?" he asks after a while.

"Yeah, but trust me. You don't want to know. Honestly it hurts to only think about it, let alone actually get it" I say with a chuckle.

"Alright, I trust your judgment" he says. We walk leisurely through the area, already familiar with the place and some of the factionless. We greet those who greet us and even shake hands with a few. We make it to Evelyn's house and knock on her door. We can hear her shout to just come in so we let ourselves in. Tobias opens the door and lets me enter first. I'm instantly hit by a wonderful smell.

"I'll be right with you" we hear Evelyn shout from the kitchen.

"Okay, mom" Tobias says.

We both sit down in the living room and wait for her to come greet us. To my delight I find a picture of the three of us on the table near the window. I get up to look at it. It was taking at our wedding and we all smile happily. Tobias comes behind me and embraces me looking down at the picture in my hands. I look at him and he smiles.

"One day I will fill this space with pictures of my grandchildren" she says and we turn to look at her.

"Hey mom" Tobias says and lets go of me to hug his mother. She hugs him tightly and both of them look so content right now. It's adorable.

"Hello, my sweet boy" she says and Tobias blushes slightly. She then comes to hug me. "Hello sweetheart."

"Hey, Evelyn. Thanks for the invitation" I say. "I have to ask. What are you cooking? This smells delicious."

"Turkey with vegetables, a recipe from Amity and for dessert I have a surprise" she says.

"Can't wait to try it" Tobias says.

"Well then. Take a seat in the dining room. Lunch is almost ready" she says and returns to the kitchen.

"You need any help?" I ask her, but she just waves her hand signaling that she doesn't. Tobias and I walk into the dining room and sit down. Soon Evelyn enters with a big plate and a turkey on it surrounded by all kinds of vegetables. I have to say, this looks amazing. And if it tastes half as good as it looks then I'll definitely visit her more often. She hands Tobias the knife to cut it and he does so. He fills my plate first, then Evelyn's and then his. I look at my plate and already feel my mouth watering.

"Well, dig in" Evelyn says with a chuckle.

Tobias tales a forkful into his mouth and closes his mouth. I do the same and can't help the small moan that escapes me.

"Evelyn, this is delicious" I say.

"Yeah, mom. It's absolutely fantastic" Tobias adds before shoving another bite into his mouth.

"I'm glad you like it" she says.

"Like it? We love it" Tobias says and looks at me. I nod my approval and continue eating.

"You have to give me the recipe" I say.

"I'll write it down for you after we're done" she says smiling.

"Who would have thought a year ago that we would all sit here and eat this delicious turkey" Tobias says.

"Not me for sure" I say and they laugh.

"To be honest I never thought I would share another meal with my son" Evelyn says a little chocked up. Tobias gets up and helps her to her feet and embraces her tightly.

"I'm glad we started mending our relationship" Tobias says.

"Me too. I love you, Tobias" Evelyn says with tears in her eyes.

"I love you too, mom."

"I can't thank you enough, Beatrice" she says looking at me.

"What for?" I ask.

"If it wouldn't have been for you this wouldn't have been possible" she says.

"No offense, Evelyn. But I did it for him not you. If he would have decided to never speak to you again I would have supported him to the end of time. But I figured he was hurting and he wasn't thinking clear. All I did was encourage him to give it a try. The rest is all you guys" I say and both smile.

"Mom's right, honey. If it weren't for you we wouldn't be here. Even if you wouldn't have jumped into Dauntless and I would have come live factionless like we originally planned I doubt we would be here today. I mean in our relationship. It is because of you that we worked things out. As far as I'm concerned we could have spend the rest of our lives near each other and I wouldn't have forgiven her for leaving me" Tobias says and Evelyn looks away ashamed.

"I'm so sorry about that" she says silently and sits down.

"I know, mom. You made a mistake and you showed me how much you regret it. Every day you try to do right by me and I thank you. The fact that you gave Tris a chance is more than I would have ever asked for" he says. "But let's face it. If it wouldn't have been for Tris we might both be factionless and even live in this house together, but I doubt we would be as close as we are now" he finishes and she nods.

"I don't know about you guys, but I want some more of this insanely good tasting turkey" I say trying to lighten the mood. They both look at me and start laughing.

"I think I'll get some more myself" Tobias says and starts filling his plate.

"Don't stuff yourselves with that. There's something I still need to bring out" Evelyn says with a chuckle.

"What is it?" I ask.

"It's a surprise" she says and walks into the kitchen. Tobias and I finish eating and by the time Evelyn returns we gathered the dirty dishes and put them aside.

"Cheesecake?" Tobias asks with a huge smile on his face.

"Surprise" Evelyn says.

"I don't get it. What's so special about that?" I ask.

"Cheesecake was Tobias's favorite dessert while growing up" Evelyn says.

"Really? Why didn't you tell me?" I ask.

"I haven't really thought about it. Mom always made it for me when Marcus was gone, usually in Amity and stayed there over night because of some council thing. She baked it for me and we ate just the two of us. Whatever remained we gave to the factionless, so that Marcus wouldn't find out" Tobias tells me.

"I thought it would be nice to make it for you after so many years. I hope you don't mind" she says to Tobias.

"No. I think it's great, mom. Cheesecake was one of the best things during my childhood, but after you were gone I couldn't even bring myself to think of it, let alone eat it. Thankfully, cheesecake isn't an Abnegation dessert so there was no chance I would get any. Dauntless however is a different story. I avoided it most of the times, but sometimes my friends wouldn't hear it. They practically shoved it down my throat" he says with a chuckle.

"Love the flashback guys, but can we please cut it. I'm dying to try it out" I say.

"My, aren't you a sweet tooth" Evelyn says to me.

"You've got no idea" Tobias says and winks at me. I smack him lightly and he just laughs.

"Here you go, sweetheart" she says and hands me a plate, before handing Tobias's his. After she cuts a slice for herself we all dig in and this time Tobias moans.

"Couldn't agree more, babe" I say. Evelyn laughs.

We eat a second slice and Evelyn offers to give us more than half to take home. Tobias immediately says yes, unlike him. I guess he really loves it. I'll have to try it out sometimes.

"I have something else for you" Evelyn says and we both look up.

"What is it?" I ask curios.

"Before I tell you, did you have any chance to look over those books I gave brought you?" she asks. Since Tobias and I returned from our honeymoon I moved the books some of the factionless recovered from the old museum and City Hall to our apartment. I looked over them, but didn't really get a chance to study them.

"I glanced over them. Initiation requires pretty much my undivided attention right now" I reply.

"Alright. Well, in any case there are a few people who want to talk to you, if you are up for it" she says and I give her a questioning look. She smiles and walks to her front door. I hear her tell someone something and then returns. "Would you please follow me" she says and we get up and walk behind her outside. I must say I'm very surprised when I see at least twenty factionless gathered around Evelyn's house. When they see us they start applauding.

"What's going on?" Tobias asks surprised.

"They wanted to come here and personally congratulate you on getting married and wish you all the best" Evelyn says smiling.

"Thank you" I immediately say and walk closer to them. I decide to shake everyone's hand, without exception. Tobias does the same, following my example.

"They also are the ones who gave you those books" Evelyn adds and I look from her to them and smile.

"Thank you so much. It was a wonderful surprise and I can't thank you enough" I say.

"Don't mention it" a tall, thin woman, with ash-white hair says. By the looks of it she must be in her mid-fifties.

"Tris, this is Moira" Evelyn introduces the woman and then goes to introduce everyone else. We sit down at a long wooden table just outside Evelyn's house and they start telling us how they are thankful that I help the factionless, how they heard from Evelyn about my fascination for the past and how I, a former Stiff, went out as a kid and explored the city all on my own.

"Why didn't you ever go back?" Sandra, a woman close to Evelyn's age asks me.

"To the City Hall and museum?" I ask and she nods. "I was just a kid when I first went and as I grew older I got more responsibilities and I started to understand the dangers these places brought with them. I always wanted to go back, but I thought of my parents. I couldn't just go without telling them. If something would have happened to me they would have never known were to look. Besides it would have been against the rules" I say a little sad.

"But you changed them" Franky, a four-teen year old boy says.

"Yeah, ever since you are in charge of the city things have changed" Benjamin, a young man in his mid-twenties agrees.

"That's not entirely true. I had this discussion with my mother-in-law many times" I say and look toward Evelyn who smiles and nods. "I didn't change them. They were already there. The thing is you just need to present certain things in a certain light for people to understand them. As a member of the City Council it is my duty to think of the best interest of the City and its inhabitants, regardless of faction status. Once I made the council see that by just keeping all of you unemployed we wouldn't progress at all they agreed to listen to me. By now many of you have jobs. They aren't as well paid as jobs within a faction, but at least you can live better than before. I already talked to the council about changing your status" I say.

"What do you mean?" Evelyn asks curious. "We don't want to be part of a faction" she says firmly.

"And yet you are part of one" I say and she looks at me confused, so does everyone else, except for Tobias who already knows this.

"I don't understand" Moira says.

"You don't belong to one of the founding factions – Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless or Erudite, but you do belong to a group, a very large group I might add. For years many have complained about the fact that Abnegation gives food away to you or keep it to themselves" I trail off a little bitter, but resume my speech when I hear Tobias clear his throat. "Anyway, just because you don't fit in one of the founding factions doesn't mean you are worthless. This is why I started this process to integrate you into society, make them see that you are valuable, as cold as this might sound. Most of you aren't in a faction not because you are criminals, but because you just didn't fit. Many of you are divergent, just like I am, but you just didn't fit because you didn't feel at home there or were scared for your life, which is understandable. A few months ago Dauntless started a process to ask certain former members back. Some of them accepted our offer, others don't. It's up to them to decide. I had a few off the record conversations with other faction leaders and they are willing to do the same, if their faction would be okay with it, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Therefore, I thought of you and your status a little more. I talked to the council, and mind you in pure numbers, and told them how life in the city would improve if we would allow you to have public jobs, which means work in public places like the Navy Pier or the trains or busses or anything else. The wages wouldn't be as high as in a faction, but I think it's a start. But for this to work out and you to have certain rights you need to be viewed as a group, as a faction."

"Beatrice, we live free, free of the government" Evelyn says.

"Do you?" Tobias asks and she looks at him questioning. "Think about it. Abnegation volunteers to help the factionless, always did. You get food and clothes from other factions and what you don't get you take from the trains" he says and Evelyn opens her mouth to say something. "Don't even try to deny it. I know for sure, but I haven't said anything, don't worry. And I won't" he adds.

"That's exactly my point. Do you really want to live like this? I know I'm young, but one day I'm going to be a mother and I want my kids to have the best future possible. Some of you have kids or want them one day. Don't tell me you don't want what's best for them" I say and look around. "Evelyn, when you left Marcus, unaware of what might happen, why did you leave your son there? In a faction?" I ask her and she remains quiet for some time. I know her well enough to see that she is refusing to agree with me.

"You wanted what was best for Tobias" Moira says and we look at her. "Oh, yes. I remember when you first came here. You used to cry for days, you missed your little boy so much, it tore my heart out every time. But you thought he was safe there and had a future, not like us. I know you are still angry, Evelyn, but the girl is right. I've lived factionless ever since I was born. My mother was factionless and I lost two children because I couldn't afford a safe roof above their heads. They would have been a little older than Tobias is now" she says looking with tears in her eyes between me and my husband. Evelyn takes a few steps toward her and embraces her. "This isn't a life, Evelyn, no matter how much we lie to ourselves that it is. If the girl can help, let her. No one ever before cared so much about us like she does."

"We would have to obey to their rules" Evelyn says in protest.

"Don't we already?" Benjamin asks.

"No" Evelyn says forcefully.

"Really?" he asks raising an eyebrow. "We have to wait for them to give us whatever they don't need anymore. We aren't allowed to work, because there are no jobs outside of factions, therefore we have to wait for them to be kind enough to acknowledge our existence."

"What do you have in mind, Tris?" Moira asks.

"First thing's first. You need better shelter. For a while the council won't be able to pay, but I've talked to other factions and they are willing to help with this project" I tell them.

"What do you mean shelter? We have shelter here" Evelyn says.

"An abandoned factory? Come on, Evelyn. Just let me tell you what I have in mind. I won't force you to do anything. You are their leader, therefore I'm telling you this first. We can go inside or I can tell you this now in front of everyone" I say.

"I don't have secrets from them" she replies.

"Alright. I've managed to get the council to agree to let the factionless restore one of the buildings nearby. Amity offered tools and materials, Erudite offered to send engineers to supervise the work to be done properly, Abnegation offered to cook for the workers, Candor, well they offer moral support" I say with a chuckle and some of them laugh.

"And Dauntless will send guards to keep everyone safe" Tobias says. "I will personally pick the people to do this job."

"Why would we need guards?" Benjamin asks.

"The situation between factionless and faction members isn't the nicest one. My men will make sure to keep order around the building site" he says, leaving no room for argument.

"What kind of a building?" Moira asks.

"An apartment building not far from here. I already inspected it and got a few opinions from Erudite engineers on its structure and resistance. It needs to be patched up here and there, but once ready it will provide forty apartments with two or three rooms each, bathroom not included. There are also ten studio apartments, meaning only one room and a bathroom. Fifty apartments total" I say.

"How would you distribute the apartments? Obviously there are more of us than are apartments?" Benjamin asks.

"Those who work on this project will have priority, meaning if you work and I mean really work not just show up for mere presence then you'll get an apartment. If you don't want one that's okay too. Larger apartments will go to families and so on" I explain.

"What if there are more workers than apartments?" another man who didn't speak up until then asks.

"Well, we'll have to see about that. If the apartment building project is a success and I'm confident it will be, then we will restore another one too, providing more apartments. If there are more factionless volunteers than apartments then we will ask who would like to skip an apartment. I can't guarantee you that a second or a third building will be restored, it very much depends on how we work on this first one, but it's mainly up to you guys. There will be a work schedule and you will be noted every time you start your shift and then again when you end it. If for instance someone has less working hours, without a good reason but still claims an apartment the situation will be evaluated. For this I'll need your assistance, Evelyn" I say and she looks at me with a curious look on her face.

"How exactly can I help you?" she asks.

"Easy. Let's say we have fifty workers. If one of them is sick he needs to report to you and get a note saying that you are aware of his illness and he won't make it to work. If he doesn't have such a note he just didn't show up. If he isn't strong enough to get out of bed by himself he needs to send word to you and I will ask you or someone you trust to check on him, see if it's true or not. We can work out the details later. If there are apartments left after the workers got one, we can have a lottery. If there is a family apartment left people with families can put their names in a bowl and you can pick one out. That family gets the apartment. But each family gets one entry" I explain. Evelyn wants to ask something when someone comes running toward us shouting something I can't really understand until the person is close enough.

"Fire, fire" a young boy, thirteen, maybe fourteen years old. We look at him shocked and Evelyn immediately walks toward him.

"Where's the fire?" she asks, grabbing him by his shoulders. He only turns around and points toward the direction he was coming from. We all look up and see a huge cloud of black smoke.


	73. Chapter 73

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I want to thank all of you who wrote so many great reviews and for all the words of encouragement. Thank you so much. It meant a great deal to my. You are awesome.
> 
> I want to tell you that right now I've got a ton of work to do. So I try my best to keep an upload schedule, but I can't promise anything. I might write a drabble or a one-shot. But I don't just want to jump head first and upload a chapter just because.
> 
> Right now I'm reading John Green's Paper Towns, I'm writing Divergent fanfiction and on top of all that my muse decided to inspire me some more. I've been thinking about an original story for some time. I actually started a few times, but it never felt right. I've already written 12000+ words and sometimes I just get overwhelmed with ideas. So, in case I'm not uploading a YAMATW chapter means I'm just inspired to write on my own. Who knows? Maybe one day you'll get to read it. Which, to be honest, would be awesome. I already have a wonderful beta reader for that one and I want to thank her. 
> 
> Enough babble.
> 
> Enjoy!

73

We all hurry toward where the fire is. Tobias has already alerted the authorities and a fire engine is heard nearby. We arrive near the fire and Tobias holds me back and steps in front of me, shielding me from getting harmed.

Evelyn coordinates with a few of her people to evacuate the area and allow the firefighters to do their job, but also to avoid anyone getting hurt. We offer to help and together push bystanders backwards until the firefighters manage to contain the flames. The chief approaches us and tells us that they need to run a search to figure out what caused it, but he already found something disturbing.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Could we talk somewhere more privately?" he asks.

"Let's go over there" Evelyn suggests, pointing far away from the gathered crowd and out of the firefighters way.

"What is it?" I repeat.

"We found two bodies" he states matter-of-factly.

"What?" Evelyn asks.

"Their bodies are burned beyond recognition, but given where we are I would assume they are factionless" he says and Evelyn immediately gets angry.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asks loud and a few turn toward us.

"Mom, calm down, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it" Tobias tries to soothe her.

"I merely stated a fact, ma'am" the chief says.

"Please, there any chance of telling if they were alive when it happened?" I ask, thinking of how horrible such a death would be.

"Until a coroner establishes cause of death we can only speculate" he says with caution.

"Speculate" I encourage.

"Given the state we found the bodies I have to assume they didn't move. Which either means they were fast asleep or already dead when the fire started" he says.

"Thank you" I tell him and he returns to his men.

"Mom, there any way to check who is missing?" Tobias asks.

"I will get to it" she says. She walks away and tells one of her men something. Tobias embraces me and kisses my head.

"What are you thinking?" he asks.

"Is it a bad thing to wish them to have been dead when the fire started?" I ask and feel tears welling up in my eyes.

"Given what this looks like now I don't even want to know how it looked like from the inside. I think, as horrible as it may sound, that it would have been best for them to already be dead instead of dying like this, while fully awake" he says and rubs my back.

"What do you think happened?" I ask.

"I don't know, but this place isn't the safest to begin with" he sighs. After a while Evelyn returns to where she left us standing.

"I talked to a few of my men. They will run a search to see who is missing" she says.

"I will call the council and tell them about what happened and will personally stay in touch with the coroner to get all the information first" I tell her and she hugs me.

"Thank you."

"We should head home. We have a long day tomorrow and there's still a lot to do for Monica's interrogation" Tobias says and I nod. We bid Evelyn goodbye, but she stops us from leaving. We return to her house and she gives us the promised cake in a plastic container. We hug and kiss her goodbye and finally leave the factionless sector, heading towards the tracks. We don't wait for long until a train comes and we jump on.

We remain mostly quiet during our ride back home to Dauntless, the occasional you okay and yeah breaking it. Thankfully we are home half an hour later and I sit down on the couch while Tobias deposits the cake in the fridge for later.

I think about calling my dad, but decide against it. He deserves a day off more than anyone. As head of the city council he has more responsibilities than anyone else in the city and needs to know about everything that is going on. I call the hospital and tell them who I am and ask to talk to the coroner. I introduce myself and tell him, a Dr. Robins, that I was there when the fire got noticed and we found the two dead bodies. I ask him, both as leader of Dauntless and member of the council to inform me as soon as he finished his examination and he thankfully agrees without any protest. I hang up and lean my head on Tobias's shoulder, who came to sit next to me. He puts his arm around me and pulls me close.

"Everything alright?" he asks.

"Yeah. The coroner agreed to call me as soon as he's done with the autopsies, but I asked him for a copy of his report. He will call first thing tomorrow and then I'll send someone to get it for me, while we prepare for Monica's interrogation."

"Alright. By the way, Jack said they would be here at ten. I already texted Tori to inform Monica to get to your office around nine thirty, so that we can talk to her or if she wants to only talk to you that's fine by me" he says.

"You are so sweet and considerate. I love you" I say and place a soft kiss to his lips.

"That's me" he says jokingly.

"I mean it, Tobias. Not many people, men or women, would be this considerate and would act all business even in a situation like this one. Thank you for being so kind."

"Well, I told you I'm working on it" he says and I remember our conversation from over a year ago, when he showed me his tattoo.

"I knew that you were kind, but you always were like that only with me. What changed?"

"You. I mean you helped me be kinder" he says and leans his forehead on mine.

"Aw, aren't you the charmer" I say and caress his jaw line with my fingertip.

"I'm a bit of Prince Charming, am I not?" he asks all serious, but I can see the glint of mischief in his eyes.

"You wish, mister" I say and he gives me a curious look. "I don't think Prince Charming leaves the toilet seat up" I say.

"Once" he defends.

"A week" I add.

"Come on. It happened once and it was the middle of the night" he says.

"And I almost fractured my behind" I say.

"But I snuggled you back to health" he says playful.

"Oh shut up" I say and push him away. He only stands up, picks me up and sprints upstairs into our bedroom.

We emerge from there a few hours later starved for food but satisfied otherwise. We eat an early supper and head to bed, but decide to read a little before actually falling asleep. While Tobias reads some novel about some war fought a long time ago I read a book called The Fault in Our Stars by a John Green. I've only read a few chapters, but I feel like I just can't put it away. But when I glance toward the clock it says 10.30 p.m. Time to go to sleep. Oh well. I'll read tomorrow if Hazel goes to this place Amsterdam, wherever that may be.

The next morning we wake early, around six a.m. Tobias takes a shower while I make coffee and prepare some cereals with strawberries and dried bananas. When Tobias is done we sit at the island and eat our breakfast, leisurely talking about our books. He seems really interested in mine and I promise to let him read it after I finish.

"Where did you get it anyways?" he asks.

"Public library, where else" I say and take another bite of my cereals. "I'm in town so often that I just drop by and pick out a book or two to read."

"Too bad it's so far away from Dauntless" he says and gives me an amazing idea. But I keep to myself. For now. Or maybe until lunch.

We finish eating and while I take my shower and get ready he cleans up the kitchen and gets ready as well. Around eight we leave the apartment and head to the Pire. I decide to stay in Tobias's office until it's time to meet with Monica for her interrogation. The moment we enter however my phone rings and I pick up.

"Hello?" I ask, not recognizing the caller.

"Uhm, Mrs. Eaton?" a male voice asks.

"Yes. Who is this?" I ask.

"I'm Dr. Robins, the coroner. You asked to be informed as soon as I finish my report regarding the two victims from yesterday's fire in the factionless sector" he answers.

"Oh, yes. Good morning, Dr. Robins."

"Good morning" he says. "I've finished my report and I can send it to you any time you like."

"Thank you. I'll send someone over to you."

"Alright. Just tell that person to ask for me and tell the hospital personnel that he or she was send by the council. It's less likely for them to stop whoever you send if he or she says that."

"Thank you for the tip. I appreciate your help. One last thing. In case I need any more answers would it be okay to call you or even meet up with you?" I ask.

"Of course. You can call whenever you like. This is my private number" he says.

We say goodbye and I call Marlene and ask her to run this errand for me. She happily accepts and I tell her what to say when she gets there. She bids us goodbye and leaves us alone.

"Why did you want to have that report?" Tobias asks.

"I want to know what happened. What? I'm curious" I say.

"Alright."

"Thankfully this Dr. Robins agreed to give me a copy of his report and I didn't have to pull some council member crap to get it. I know that I would have gotten a report eventually, since I'm a council member and all, but since it happened in the factionless sector I'm afraid that some won't see this as a priority. Therefore, I made it mine" I say and he smiles at me. "What?"

"You are amazing. The way you care about everyone, not just family and friends, but also our faction and the city and the factionless. If you keep it up, honey, you're going to be our first city leader in centuries" he says jokingly.

"God forbid. I already have so much stuff to do. That would only make me busier and all I want right now is to take care of my lovely husband and maybe our soon to come baby" I say and he pulls me onto his lap. "Baby, no" I say and he sticks his lip out. "Forget it. Not here."

"It's not like we haven't done it here before" he says.

"I'm aware, but not before my dad and a few council members are about to come over. You'll get yours later, at home."

"Promise?" he asks.

"Cross my heart and hope to die" I say all serious. He chuckles and leans forward and kisses me. As if on cue we hear a knock on the door and I get off of him. He stands up as well and straightens his clothes. I open the door and greet my dad, Jack, Jonah and Michael.

"Good morning, Beatrice, Four" my dad says.

"Good morning. Please come in" I tell them and wait for all of them to enter Tobias's office. We greet each and every one and then sit down to discuss the upcoming interrogations.

"Tris will meet Monica shortly in her office. She will talk to her and prepare her for the interrogation" Tobias tells them.

"I talked to a defense attorney. She should be here soon. She agreed to your terms and won't address the victim directly but will tell me instead and I will ask Monica" Jack says.

"Alright. I should get going" I say looking at my watch. I leave Tobias's office and find Monica just walking down the corridor.

"Good morning, Tris" she says, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Good morning, Monica. Please, follow me to my office" I say and lead her to my door. I unlock and open it and allow her to enter first. We sit on the couch and I explain to her who all will be in the room during her interrogation and what will happen. I explain her how the truth serum works and she only nods. I also tell her that Jeremy's attorney, who I haven't met yet, will ask questions only through Jack. When we near ten a.m. her anxiety level rises slightly, but she manages to keep herself calm enough and not cry. Soon we hear a knock on my door and I go and open it. I allow everyone in and Jack introduces me to Alicia Kearney, Jeremy's attorney. She is a middle-aged woman, about my height, but a little curvier. She wears a pair of glasses and a black and white, typical Candor, dress. She holds a briefcase in her left hand and sticks out her right to shake mine. I politely do so and motion her to come in.

Everything is set up and dad introduces everyone to Monica so that she doesn't feel too awkward, if that's even possible at this point.

She finally sits down on a chair in the middle of the room and Tobias administers the truth serum. We wait a moment and then Jack starts his interrogation. Tobias comes next to me and I stand up allowing him to sit on the couch while I sit on his lap.

"Please, state your name" Jack starts.

"Monica Taylor" she answers.

"What was your birth faction?"

"Candor."

"And you chose Dauntless?"

"Yes."

"How do you like Dauntless?" he asks and glances my way with a small smile. Tricky bastard.

"It's been great, I mean training is tough, but I found friends here and my instructors are awesome. Tris is just the best and whenever we have our sparing and fighting sessions with her Lauren we don't just learn how to defend ourselves we actually have fun."

"Do you regret choosing Dauntless?" he asks.

"No" she answers immediately. I'm glad she likes it here. She's got potential.

"Please tell us what happened on the night of June 12th" Jack says and Monica's demeanor changes.

"I was returning to the dorms after supper. I was late because I went to the pharmacy earlier to get some painkillers for my headache. So when I entered the cafeteria most initiates where almost done eating. Some of them asked if they wanted me to stick around, but I didn't want to keep them there. They were tired and needed their rest. It wasn't their fault I was late. I finished up and left the cafeteria. I walked back to the dorms when a light went out. Before I knew it I was slammed into a wall and dragged away from there. My vision was blurry because of that and I couldn't really tell where he was dragging me" she tells us and stops talking. She closes her eyes and a tear runs down her face.

"How did you know it was a man?" Jack asks.

"I could tell by his strength and height, but he also spoke to me. He ordered me to move, but because my ears were ringing from the blow to my head I didn't recognize him. We finally reached a small room, which later turned out to be a maintenance room. He shoved me inside and locked the door. I tried to scream but he hit me in the face and told me to stop pretending, that he knew I wanted it too. That I wanted him and that's when I recognized him. It was Jeremy. At first only his voice, but there was a soft light in the room and I saw his face. I begged him to stop but he kept saying that I should drop the act. That I was horny little bitch who just wanted her pussy to be pounded by a real man" she chokes out. I want to get up and hug her, but Tobias tightens his arms around me, keeping me in place. I know he is right. I can't just interrupt this, but I feel so sorry for her. No one, man or woman, deserves to go through something like this.

"What happened next?" Jack asks and I can hear the apprehension in his voice. No one really wants to know the details.

Monica proceeds and tells us every single excruciatingly painful detail of her ordeal, all the while crying her eyes out. My heart aches for her and I wish this would be over already.

"But the strangest thing was that he called Tris's name when he came" she says and surprises us all. I feel Tobias's grip tighten around me even more, so much that I barely breathe, but I understand him. What we just learned is both disgusting and disturbing and come to think of it, he didn't want to rape Monica. He wanted to rape…me. In his twisted, sick mind he thinks that we want him. He even made it clear to me that the only thing standing between him and me is Tobias. Oh my God. What if he wouldn't have come onto me and I would have immobilized him? What if he would have planned something to hurt Tobias? What if he wanted to kill him? Tobias must have sensed me tensing up and presses his mouth to my ear.

"He is in custody, he can't hurt you" he says, thinking I must be afraid for my well-being, when it's him I'm worrying about.

"He could have hurt you" I whisper back.

"No, he couldn't have. I'm Four, Dauntless legend" he says jokingly, trying to calm me. I know he is strong and he could destroy Jeremy with his arms restrained and blindfolded on top of that, but still. Tobias is the love of my life. If anything would happen to him I would die.

Jack asks her a few more questions, some coming from Jeremy's attorney. Monica answers and shortly after Jack administers the antiserum and Monica slumps back into the chair, as if until now she was sprinting. I stand up and walk to the small table on the other side of the room and pour Monica some water. I walk to her and hand her the glass she thanks me and takes two gulps. She stands up and looks at me sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, Tris" she says and I give her a questioning look.

"Why are you apologizing?" I ask. "You didn't do anything" I reassure her.

"I said that about you. I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it" she says and looks away.

"Don't worry, Monica. It's not your fault. It's Jeremy's. Besides the truth serum is known to get the truth out" I say jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. She gives me a weak smile and takes another sip from her glass. Tobias walks over to us and places his right arm around my waist pulling me to him.

"You were brave, Monica" he tells her and she blushes slightly at the compliment.

"I don't know about that" she says looking away.

"He's right. Coming out like this, exposing oneself isn't easy. But I'm glad you did, because now he can be punished for what he did" I tell her.

We chat with her for another moment until Jack comes over to where we are standing.

"Alright, we are done here. We are heading back to Candor. We have scheduled his interrogation for later this afternoon. You are more than welcome to join" he says and leaves us alone. Monica says also goodbye and starts walking away.

"Monica" Tobias says.

"Yes?" she asks turning around.

"Go to the dorm and rest. You will join the other initiates after lunch break" he tells her and she smiles.

"Thank you" she says and leaves my office.

"Dad" I call my dad over. He joins us immediately and looks serious.

"It's unbelievable what some people are capable of. And to think he wanted to…" he says but trails of.

"I would have killed him before he even tried" Tobias says only for us to hear him and tightens his grip on me again.

"You seem to forget I beat him up" I say. Tobias wants to argue, but I lean up and kiss him quickly. "But I'm glad you are so protective. I love you" I say, ignoring my father, but sometimes Tobias needs to be calmed down. And the best way to do that is to kiss him and tell him how much I love him. Sex also helps, but I need to keep it in my pants. We part and he looks deep into my eyes, his eyes a lot softer than before.

"I love you too" he says.

"And I love you both" my dad says smiling, but then his expression changes to a more serious one.

"I guess we should get back to business" Tobias says with a chuckle.

"Yeah before we turn y office into an Amity embassy" I say and they laugh lightly. "Dad, the reason why I called you over is the fire in the factionless sector" I say and he nods. "Tobias and I were there yesterday, as I told you. Evelyn had us over for lunch and then it happened. I asked both the fire department and the coroner to send me their reports, since I knew that no one would care so much about the factionless sector" I say and my dad interrupts me.

"That's not true" he says.

"Alright. But most don't care. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I will take charge of the investigation. Please, send a memo to everyone who needs to be notified about that. I don't want to have to call every time someone refuses to cooperate" I say and he nods in agreement.

"Are you two coming to this Jeremy's interrogation?" my dad asks.

"Yes" Tobias answers. "But Jack forgot to tell us the exact time."

"I'll call him and ask and then let you know" my dad promises.

"Thank you, Andrew."

"Don't mention it. How did Evelyn take our offer?" he asks looking from Tobias to me and then back to Tobias.

"She didn't entirely reject it, but we had some exchange. Nothing too bad. But I asked her for a trial period of sorts. She should discuss it with her people and we should see together if this is something manageable" I tell him.

"I hope, for everyone's sake, that this plan of yours works out" my dad says.

"Me too, dad. Me too" I say.

We say goodbye and soon everyone leaves Dauntless. It's still some time left until lunch break so I decide to get some paperwork done. Tobias kisses me and heads to his own office to do the same. Until now everything seems fine. I'm curious to see what Jeremy has to say for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yeah, Tris is reading The Fault in Our Stars - go figure. BTW totally recommend it. Awesome book. And to quote Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief, you laugh, you cry and then come back for more.
> 
> I've decided not to go into too much detail of Monica's assault. I'm a woman and I don't even want to imagine what anyone must feel going through something like this.


	74. Chapter 74

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you all for your loyal support and all the nice and encouraging comments and reviews. I also want to thank those of you who offer constructive criticism. It helps a lot. Due to a very busy schedule at work and some major ideas for my own original story I've decided to upload once a week for a while, every Saturday (unless something unforeseen happens, like the internet is on strike or aliens invade or I'm getting eaten by an Indominus Rex :)). I decided to do this because I didn't want this story to suffer and its quality to decrease. I don't want to post a chapter of a few hundred words just for the sake of it. Some things need to be thought through. I hope you understand and aren't too disappointed. I hope you stick around for more FourTris adventures. FYI I'll keep posting drabbles in Moments we share and I'm planning on writing a few smut-shots. A few of you have asked if you could read my original story. Well, I have to write it first, but I'm proud to say I've got over 27.000 words. When I'm done maybe. I have a beta reader right now, but who knows... maybe one day soon you all get to read it.
> 
> As for the FourTris baby... after things settle down with Jeremy and the initiation and some other stuff happens there will be a fast forward and Tris will receive the good news.

74

Before we head down to the cafeteria I decide to go get Tobias. It just occurred to me that people will start asking us questions about the missing initiate and probably some already know that the council was here this morning. I knock on Tobias's door and when he tells me to come in I do so. He looks toward the door and smiles when he sees me.

"I didn't expect you" he says and gets up.

"I can leave" I say teasing him.

"No way" he says and comes over to me and hugs me tightly. I expect him to let go of me, but he doesn't.

"Honey?" I ask tentatively.

"I'm so glad you are strong enough to defend yourself and happy that you kept training even though I was partially against it" he says without letting go.

"Me too" I say and rub his back.

"I would have killed him if he would have touched you. That perverted bastard."

"I'm fine, Tobias. Don't let all these ifs rule your head. Nothing happened, thankfully, and Jeremy is now in custody. This afternoon we will know more about who he really is."

"Yeah" Tobias says rather distant.

"Tobias?"

"Yeah?"

"We need to think of something to say to the others. I mean people will start asking questions."

He lets go of me enough to look me in the eyes. He has a pensive expression and I can tell he thought about this too.

"I asked Tori to meet us here" he says and looks at his watch when suddenly somebody knocks on the door. "Speaking of the devil" he says with a chuckle. "Come in." Tori enters the office and Tobias finally lets go of me. We sit down, Tori and I on the couch and Tobias in one of the chairs.

"Hey guys" she says. "Four told me we need to think of something to say regarding the Jeremy problem" she says.

"Yeah. While I was in my office I realized people will start asking questions" I say and she nods.

"Tris already pointed out last week when we had the suspicion that we should inform the faction of Jeremy's crime. However, we should keep the victims name secret. I agree. Especially after this morning and having to hear what that low-life did to that poor girl. I don't want her to go through more of this, if that's possible" he says and my heart melts. He is so tough all the time that people don't really know what a wonderful, thoughtful and kind man he is. The fact that he wants to spear Monica from more pain is just proof of that.

"I agree with you, Four" Tori says. "We should make an announcement, but we should wait after his interrogation. That way we will have more information and can decide what to say and what not" she suggests.

"Sounds like a plan. Are you coming? To the interrogation I mean" I ask her.

"No. I need to supervise an Amity transport later this afternoon" she says.

"Seems it's just you and me" I say to Tobias.

"What's that supposed to mean? Just you and me? Am I not enough?" he asks in a teasing manner.

"Oh shut up, you big baby" I say and smack his arm lightly.

"You guys are so adorable" Tori say and I blush a little.

"Let's go eat something, before we overwhelm Tori with our adorableness" Tobias says and gets up. We follow him outside and walk down to the cafeteria where we seek our table. Some of our friends are already there and to my delight Shauna and Zeke brought little Hunter down. I greet all of my friends and sit down next to Shauna. She allows me to hold Hunter while she's eating.

"You grew up so much since I last saw you, little Hunter" I say and he looks up at me and opens his mouth. "Do you even remember me? I'm your godmother Tris" I tell him in a hushed voice, even though I don't know why. It's loud as usual in the cafeteria, but the baby boy doesn't seem to mind. He smiles at me and I look at him stunned. "Oh my God. Did you guys see that? Did you see that?" I ask Tobias and he looks at me confused. "He smiled at me. He totally smiled at me" I say beaming.

"Oh man. Why is he only smiling at girls?" Uriah whines.

"Probably because he will be a heartbreaker" Will says and we laugh.

"Look, Four" I say and show him the little guy in my arms. Tobias looks at him and Hunter looks back, but doesn't smile.

"He definitely likes you better than me" he says with a chuckle.

"I like him too. Very much" I say turning to look at the little bundle in my arms.

"You look good, Tris. With a baby I mean" Shauna says and I blush a little.

"It's not me. Hunter is the looker here" I say trying to deflect the conversation from me.

"He is one beautiful baby" Marlene says looking at him. And all the girls nod their heads.

"Can I hold my nephew?" Lynn asks and I nod. I stand up and hand little Hunter over the table to his aunt who cradles him in her own arms. I sit back down and feel Tobias's arm snaking around my waist.

"Shauna is right, you know. I can't wait to see you with our little one" he says and I turn to look at him. He smiles shyly and I smile back. I'm anxious for it to happen, but since the thing with Jeremy happened I didn't even think about that. And then all my good mood is gone. To think that in just a few hours I will have to sit through Jeremy's interrogation, listening to all the bad things he did. It was hard listening to Monica, but ever since she revealed that he was actually after me makes me feel uneasy. I know I'm capable of defending myself, but still. Tobias must have noticed my mood change and kisses my cheek lightly. He whispers in my ear, asking me if I'm alright. I only nod, not wanting to talk about it.

"You okay, Tris?" Marlene asks. Damn it.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine" Christina observes.

"I am though."

"Is it because of what happened in the factionless sector?" Marlene asks.

"Why? What happened?" Shauna asks.

"There was a fire there yesterday. Two people are dead" Tobias says matter-of-factly.

"Oh. But why are you so bothered by it?" Shauna asks.

"Two people are dead" I say.

"Yeah, but they were factionless" she says and I get angry.

"So? Doesn't make them any less important or their lives any less valuable" I say a little louder.

"Calm down, Tris. I didn't mean it like that" she defends.

"Then how did you mean it?"

"I meant you are not their leader. Their leader should be in charge" she says a little pissed now.

"Evelyn is their leader, but you all know that they have no representative on the council. No one will care for them."

"Your Abnegation is showing" Christina says a little amused, but I don't think it is.

"So what? And I don't think this has anything to do with the fact that I came from Abnegation. Regardless of where it happened this is something that should concern us all. Two people are dead and until we can positively identify them we don't know who they were and what happened. As far as we know two Dauntless could have wondered through the factionless sector and died in that fire. Or some Erudite or Amity or Candor. It is our responsibility to make this city a safer place. We as Dauntless are responsible to keep everyone safe, including the factionless. But we shouldn't be the only ones to care for everyone's safety. All the factions should care" I say loud and when I look around everyone in the cafeteria has stopped eating and chatting and was now listening to me. I don't know what came over me but I felt it was something that I needed to say. I get up and climb on the bench so that I can see everyone. All eyes are on me and I feel a blush creep on my face. "If we help each other out we can create a better future for ourselves, our children and for all the children to come. We have lived for centuries caged up in some principles that define our factions. But we are more than that. Regardless if someone is Divergent or not. We all have it in us. No one is asking you to betray what you believe is right. I'm not asking you to do anything as a matter of fact. But when something tragic, like the loss of two lives reaches you don't just give me this bull that it isn't my responsibility. It is. Not because I'm a member of the god damn council or one of your leaders or just fucking pissed right now that I'm yelling like a fucking banshee. No! It is my responsibility because I live in this city. Because I'm part of it and it of me. And if you don't give a fuck about it that's your problem. But don't you dare giving me this crap" I yell and jump off the bench. I'm so pissed right now that I lost my appetite and all I want is to be alone. I storm out of the cafeteria, feeling everyone's eyes on me, but I don't care and walk up to the Pire and to my office. I get the key out and unlock my door. I enter and slam it shut. I walk to my desk and pick up the coroner's report that Marlene brought to me earlier. I sit behind my desk and start reading.

The report states that both victims were severely burned, but it is the coroner's opinion that given the intensity and duration of the fire they shouldn't present that much damage as they do. He concludes that the only way the bodies ended up as burned as they did is that someone soaked them in gasoline or something similar. He wrote a note for me. Waiting on test result for accelerators. Okay. I make a mental note to call him later. I keep reading through the lines and see another conclusion. Both bodies, a man and a woman, were already dead when the fire started. Which means even if, and that's unlikely, the fire started by accident the two people were already dead. Now, there's always the possibility that they died and the fire just started, but given the fact that the bodies were way to burned makes me think of someone who tried to hide the fact that there were two corpses to begin with. I'm so engrossed in my reading material that I don't even notice when Tobias comes in. He places his hand on my shoulder and I jump up startled.

"Holy fucking shit!" I yell and look at him. He looks back surprised. "You scared the living crap out of me" I'm still yelling. "Can't you like knock or say something when you come in?" I ask and walk to the fridge and get a bottle of water out.

"First of all, stop yelling. I'm not deaf, but if that was your intention you are close to deafening me. Secondly, what the hell is wrong with you?" he asks a little angry, but mainly worried.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with everyone else?" I ask and let myself fall on the couch.

"What's wrong with you? Shauna merely asked why you are so concerned about two factionless when they have their own leader to care about it. She didn't mean any harm" he says and sits down. He holds my gaze like so many times before.

"Why does no one else care? Just because they are factionless they don't deserve someone to care for them?" I ask him.

"My mom cares for them."

"Is it wrong for me to care too?"

"It is if you forget that you are a Dauntless leader" he says.

"I'm not forgetting anything" I say angry and get up. I walk to the desk and get the file. I hand it to Tobias and he looks at me like I'm crazy. "Just read it." I sit back down next to him and let him read for a while.

"I'm smart, but not that smart. Enlighten me" he says.

"According to this the two bodies were one male one female."

"I got that much. It says here late teens early twenties. What's that mean?"

"Means they were around our age" I explain and he frowns.

"I know that. I meant what does it say that helps us?"

"Not much. But go on. Read some more."

"Could you just give me the short version. We have to leave soon" he says irritated.

"Leave? Where?"

"Candor. Your dad called right after you stormed off and told me they would interrogate Jeremy at three p.m." he tells me.

"Alright."

"Now. The short version, please."

"Right. Two victims, one male one female. According to the report they were dead when the fire started. I haven't read all of it, but it seems they were killed. Also, someone started the fire with the intent to destroy the bodies. However it seems like he wasn't the brightest. It takes far longer to reduce a human body to ashes" I explain.

"So, murder" Tobias says looking at a spot on the wall. He remains quiet for a while and is only pulled out of his thoughts when my stomach grumbles. I never got a chance to eat. He looks at me and smiles a little. Then, he hands me a sandwich and an apple. "Eat, you skipped lunch and who knows how long we'll have to say in Candor."

I take both sandwich and apple and start eating, while Tobias keeps reading the file. After a while he gets a text and answers it without telling me anything. I guess he is still pissed because of my outburst, but I don't really care. Well, I care that he is upset, but this is my opinion and I won't apologize for having one.

"You still out for blood?" he asks without looking up.

"Huh?"

"I said, you still out for blood?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, you were kind of scary in the cafeteria. Some even said you were scarier than me and that's saying something" he says with a chuckle. He finally looks up and smiles at me. It feels good to see him smile.

"They did not" I say, but I feel kind of proud, even if he made it up.

"I swear it's true. And I don't mean our friends. Random Dauntless came up to me and said that you are the new Four and I had to correct them" he says and I look at him with furrowed eyebrows. "I told them there's only one Four, but Six is definitely scarier" he finishes explaining and grins at me.

"I'm scarier, huh?" I ask, trying to keep a serious face, but fail.

"Yeah, but you still need to practice your Four-face" he says, using my own term for it.

"Yeah, I guess" I say now smiling.

"C'mere" he says putting the file next to him on the couch and I crawl in his lap. He wraps me in his arms and I lay my head on his shoulder. "You okay, baby? You seemed unusually stressed out in the cafeteria" he says, concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah. It's just work and then the thing with Monica and Jeremy, the fire, the murders and on top of that I got my period" I say and start crying. I hate being so weak.

"Calm down, sweetheart. Everything will be alright. I promise. If work becomes too much just take a day or two off. Just stay at home and relax. Or we could escape for a night and go back to the cabin. Or we could go for a swim or anything you like. We can even just lie down on some towels on the balcony. And don't you stress because of not being pregnant yet. Remember what your doctor told you. It'll happen soon enough, but you need to calm down." He holds me tighter and rubs my back soothingly. I relax in his arms and for the first time today I feel happy.

"Do we have time?" I ask.

"We have to be at Candor at three p.m., but with the car we'll get there in twenty minutes. It's almost two p.m." he says taking a look at his watch. "Why?"

"Can we just stay here, like this, until we have to go?"

"Sure. Anything you want, sweetheart" he says and keeps rubbing my back.

We remain silent for a long while until I can't keep it in anymore. I start crying and Tobias lets me. He knows that I just need to get it out of my system. He tightens his grip on me and I wrap my arms around his neck and soak his collar with my tears, but he keeps holding me and comforting me the best he can.

"I don't want to go. I don't want to hear him or see him" I say like a stubborn little child. "I want to stay here with you, holed up and in your arms and forget everything around us. I want to make love to you and I want us to make a baby and I want us to be happy. Forever."

"We are happy, aren't we?" he asks. I pull away from him and look him in the eyes through the tear curtain in front of mine.

"I'm happy whenever I'm with you" I tell him honestly and he smiles.

"So am I. But we have to go. I'll be there and hold your hand and you will be strong and stand tall and show that little bastard that you are the epitome of Dauntless and he shouldn't even be in your presence, let alone talk to you or fantasize about you. And when it's over we will come back, we'll go to our apartment, I'll carry you upstairs into our bedroom, lay you down and love you all night long. And one day we will wake up and the doctor will tell us that all the love we feel for each other created a tiny little life inside you" he says and rubs my flat belly. I look at him and he has tears in his eyes. I was so focused on me and my feelings that I haven't even thought about him and what he is feeling.

"I'm so sorry, Tobias. I am so selfish."

"No, you are not. You are just overwhelmed. You need to take a step back and relax. I'll help you the best I can, but you have to let me" he says seriously.

"I will. I promise. We are a team, you and me."

"You and me against the world, baby."

"Damn right" I say and wipe away my own tears and then his. I kiss lips softly, but it's more than just a kiss. It's my heart poured into it, every bit of love I feel for this man. It's a promise. He is and will always be the most important person in my life. Forever.

We pull apart and get up. I secure the report from the coroner in my desk drawer and we leave the office. We walk to the garage and retrieve our SUV. Tobias sits in the driver's seat and I sit shotgun. Like he said it takes us twenty minutes to get there and most of the times we don't say anything. Tobias parks the car and we get out. We meet my dad and Jonah and walk inside where Jack's assistant is already waiting for us. She is escorting us to a room I've never been before and we sit down.

"Welcome to Candor" Jack says when he approaches us.

"I wish I could come here at least once just to visit" I say.

"Hey, you come here plenty of times just to visit" he defends.

"But somehow you two end up talking council stuff and Vanessa and I just stand there awkwardly hoping you will pay attention to us" Tobias says with a chuckle.

"Not true" I say and Tobias raises an eyebrow. "Partially not true" I correct. "Alright, sometimes true and I swear if you don't stop looking at me like that you can sleep on the couch, mister" I threaten, although we both know that if he sleeps on the couch I sleep with him there.

"Oh, looks like trouble in paradise" Jack says.

"I wouldn't laugh" Tobias says al serious and pulling a Four-face. "Where do you think she got the couch idea?" he asks and looks straight into Jack's eyes. Then it dawns on him.

"No, not Vanessa. Not my sweet Vanessa. Okay, that's it. You" he points at me "and Vanessa can't hang out anymore. You are a bad influence, Mrs. Eaton and I don't want to sleep another night on the couch" he says.

"Hey. Why am I the bad influence? She's the one who suggested it not me. If anyone should complain that's Four, about Vanessa being a bad influence on me" I say and they start laughing.

"Kids, I know this is funny right now, but we are here for some serious business" my dad says and we stop.

"Sorry dad" I say.

"Yeah, sorry Andrew" Tobias joins in.

"I still think you're the bad influence" Jack says. "But you are right. I'll go see if everything's ready. Let's get this over with."

He disappears behind a tall dark wooden door and we wait for him to come back. I look around in the room and see that a few Candor are here to witness the interrogation and on the other side of the room are two Erudite, probably Jeremy's parents and his lawyer. His mother is in tears and his father is trying to comfort her. He too looks upset, but tries to be strong for his wife.

The wooden door opens again and Jack steps inside the room, followed by two Dauntless guards, each on one side of Jeremy. He is in cuffs and looks pale and disorientated. When he sees his mother he lets a few tears run down his face and she tries to go to him to hug him, but his father keeps her in place. His lawyer tells them something and they nod, sitting down on the chairs behind them. The guards lead Jeremy into the middle of the room where a chair is. The moment Jeremy catches me watching him his expression changes from an upset one to an evil one. He looks me straight in the eyes and grins widely before running his tongue over his lips, first the bottom lip then the upper one. He is forced to sit down and Jack approaches him with a syringe that contains the truth serum. The moment the serum is injected Jeremy's body tenses and he closes his eyes. When he opens them again his pupils are dilated making him look surreal, out of this place. Jack takes a step back and starts asking his questions.

"What is your name?"


	75. Chapter 75

75

Jack asked the first question and Jeremy looks up at him, pupils dilated and unfocused.

"What is your name?" Jack repeats.

"Jeremy Carmichael."

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"What is your birth faction?"

"Erudite."

"When you chose a few weeks ago, what faction did you choose?"

"Dauntless."

"Please, tell us what happened on the evening of June 12th" Jack says and everyone in the room falls silent and listens carefully.

"I was returning from the cafeteria to the dorms when I saw Monica. I went to talk to her but she acted like she didn't want to."

"Did you ever think that she didn't want to talk to you?" Jack asks, trying to keep it together and be as professional as possible, but all those months of working together and spending time together taught me to distinguish his behavior from indifferent to disgusted or even angry. He is as good as Tobias in hiding his own feelings, but not in an intimidating way.

"No" Jeremy answers. "She has the hots for me and I thought hey maybe we could just hook up."

I'm disgusted with him. He actually believes that what he is saying makes sense and justifies his actions.

"What happened next?" Jack continues the interrogation.

"We went to a small maintenance room where we had sex" he says matter-of-factly.

"Did she go willingly?" Jack asks.

"Of course" Jeremy answers and we all gasp in shock. These are two different versions of the same events.

"Is this your statement, Mr. Carmichael? That Ms. Taylor came with you willingly?"

"Yes."

"Did she at any point resist your advances?"

"She pretended to, but I know she wanted to fuck me" he answers bluntly.

"Did she scream or say she didn't want to have intercourse with you?" Jack asks and the disgust he is feeling is starting to pour out.

"She pretended. I like it when girls pretend they are all defenseless. But they are all sluts. They all want to get fuck hard by a real cock" he says and I can feel Tobias tense even more next to me. I look at him and he throws daggers at Jeremy. I think if I wouldn't hold his hand and rub my finger over the back of it he would jump up and rip Jeremy to pieces. Not just because of me, but because Jeremy is despicable and deserves the worst fate our law system could come up with.

"How did you know she pretended?" Jack asks.

"I just did. I mean look at me? All the girls want piece of me" he says grinning.

"Ms. Taylor told us that while you climaxed you called someone else's name. Is that true?" Jack asks and Tobias grabs my hand tightly.

"Yes."

"Could you tell us the name of that person?"

"Tris" he says smirking.

"Do you mean Tris Eaton, leader of Dauntless?" Jack asks. We all know he means me, but it's necessary for the procedure to be precise.

"Yeah, the finest piece of ass I ever wanted to fuck. Unfortunately, her boyfriend keeps interfering" he says. I have to pull Tobias toward me to keep him from leaping toward Jeremy and beat the shit out of him. I understand him, I want to do the same. But before anything we are leaders and we need to show that we respect the law.

"I think you are a little confused. Four isn't her boyfriend. He is her husband" Jack clarifies.

"Same to me. If he wouldn't lurk around her she and I could have had one hell of a good time" he says. That little motherfucker. I would never cheat on Tobias. Ever. And especially not with some creep like Jeremy. I'm so enraged that I can't stop myself. I get up and walk to the middle of the room. I faintly hear Jeremy's lawyer protest and Jack turns around to face me. He takes a step toward me and whispers.

"What are you doing?" he asks so that only I can hear him.

"This piece of shit is telling lies about me. I need to defend myself."

"You can't do this the Dauntless way" he says.

"Not planning. According to the law I have the right to interrogate the witness if one of two conditions are fulfilled. One, I'm the leader of his faction or two I'm a council member. Thankfully, I'm both. So, yes, Jack. I'm invoking article 5, paragraph 8, subsection B of the Criminal Law Code" I tell him. He looks at me for a second and sighs.

"Tris Eaton, leader of Dauntless and City Council member just invoked article 5, paragraph 8, subsection B of the Criminal Law Code. Any objections?" he asks, although even if they were it is my civil right to ask this. When no one objects he takes my place next to Tobias and I stand in front of Jeremy.

"Jeremy, I'm honestly impressed by you" I say smiling.

"I know. I'm a looker" he says smirking.

"That's not what I meant. And I don't give a fuck. When exactly did it cross your sick mind that I might be interested in someone as weak and self-absorbed like you?"

"You say that now but I know how you looked at me" he challenges.

"No shit. How did I look at you?"

"You were attracted to me the moment you saw me."

"Jeremy, this might come as a shocker for you, but I'm as attracted to you as anyone is to an STD. In case you've missed it, I'm married. Happily I might add. And even if that wouldn't be the case I still wouldn't be interested in you. Because (a) you are one of my initiates, (b) you are a self-absorbed, sick son of a bitch and (c) you are the worst kind of person I've ever met. And trust me I've met a lot of fucked up people. There is no chance in hell I would ever fuck you even if we would be the last two people on God's green Earth and the human race would depend on it. I can't stress this out enough, Jeremy. I'm not interested in you. At all. I love my husband now and forever. Got it, you sick bastard?" I yell the last part.

"I object" Jeremy's lawyer says out loud.

"Mrs. Eaton is badgering my client."

"Actually, I'm not. He is the one who has been harassing me. But, Karen" I look toward the clerk who is recoding this interrogation. She looks up and gives me a shy smile. "Could you please take out the fucks and other expletives I used?" I ask and she nods. "There you have it" I say looking at the lawyer. "Jeremy, I've got another question. Before you chose Dauntless did you have any girlfriends in Candor?"

"Tons" he answers.

"Did they all like to pretend they don't want to have sex with you?"

"Yeah" he answers as if it's the most natural thing in the world. He just admitted he raped more than one girl.

"Let me be clear. Did all these girls behave like Monica when you had sex with them?" I ask, trying to erase any kind of doubt.

"Yeah. But they all knew I like it when they fight back. It turns me on when I'm in charge" he says.

"How many girls did you have sex with? Excluding Monica" I say and wait for his answer. He remains silent for a while, counting down.

"Seven" he answers.

"Could you give us their names?" I ask.

"Jessica Fitzgerald, Maya Stern, Farah James, Sadie Miller, Jewel Foster, Mary Camden and Julie Burns" he lists their names. This sick bastard is a serial rapist, but thankfully because of the truth serum we now have the names of his other victims. If they all say the same, that Jeremy raped them, he will be executed for sure.

"Are they all from Erudite?" I ask.

"Yes."

"How old are they?"

"Fifteen, sixteen" he answers.

"Did it ever cross your mind that those girls didn't want to have sex with you?" I ask disgusted.

"No. They all wanted me to fuck them hard. Some of them even offered me their virginity" he says proudly and I feel like getting sick.

"Before we finish this I'm going to say something to you, off the record and I don't think even your lawyer will stop me" I say looking at her. She looks shocked and disgusted just like me, but she remains quiet. I look briefly at his parents, both of them are crying. I don't think they had the tiniest clue of who their son is and what he is capable of. I think the worst thing they fought about him was that he was a faction traitor when he chose Dauntless. But given what we all just learned I think a faction traitor is a thousand times better than serial rapist. "Jeremy, you are a rapist. I doubt any of the girls you had sex with wanted you to rape them. But even if for some reason they did, Monica didn't. She repeated it over and over again. And I sure as hell would have never touched you let alone given myself to you. Intimate relations are for two people who truly love each other, but you are incapable of feeling even a shred of love. You think those girls wanted you? You are wrong. No woman wants to be raped. You disgust me, you piece of shit. Whatever the court and the council decides I declare as leader of Dauntless that there is no place for you among us. If for some reason you won't get executed or imprisoned you will be made factionless, without appeal" I say and his eyes widen in shock for the first time.

"I haven't raped them. They wanted to. I'm innocent. Those cunts are lying" he says raging. He tries to get up but not only does the truth serum weaken him, he is also restraint and the two Dauntless guards approach his chair and push him back down. I turn on my heels and walk out of the room. I can't stand another second in the same room with that monster.

I walk to a window and lean my forehead against it. I can feel someone behind me, but I feel myself drained. The person rests his hand on my shoulder and I recognize the touch. Tobias. I lean backwards and he envelopes me with his strong arms.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all this" he softly whispers in my ear before kissing me temple.

"We had to. Both of us. We are leaders and it is part of our job. I never thought there are so many though. I mean, it was bad when it was just Monica. But seven other girls, Tobias."

"I know, love. But I doubt he will get off that easy."

"I'm sorry I made the decision without you and Tori. Making him factionless I mean" I say only now realizing I decided this without consulting my co-leaders.

"It's okay. I would have done the same. And I'm sure Tori won't mind either. We don't want Jeremy in Dauntless."

"We need to tell the faction. They need to know all this. But more importantly we need to raise sexual abuse awareness. We need to work proactive in avoiding situations like this one. Not just in Dauntless but everywhere in the city. No one, man or woman, should be forced to do anything he or she doesn't want to. We need to fight this."

"I know, my love. And we will. I'm going to text your father and tell him that I'm taking you home" he says and kisses my temple again. Just as he takes out his phone the door opens and dad and Jack come out.

"What happened?" I ask.

"They took Jeremy back to his cell. The court will retreat into chamber and discuss the matter. But given his testimony and the one from Ms. Taylor this morning there is no doubt he raped her. I already called Samantha and told her about what happened. She promised to locate the girls. Some of them might have chosen a different faction. We will know more tomorrow" Jack tells us.

"Good. We are going home" Tobias says. "Andrew, we can drive you" he adds.

"That's not necessary, son. I can take the bus" he says and Tobias wants to protest but my dad raises his hand. "I need to think. I need to be alone and digest all I've just heard and witnessed." I understand what he means. Unfortunately, this isn't over for us.

"Alright. We'll talk tomorrow then. Give Natalie a hug and kiss from both of us" Tobias says before hugging my dad.

"I will, son." I then hug my dad and kiss his cheek. "Goodbye, kids."

"Bye dad, bye, Jack" I say and give Jack a quick hug, while Tobias just shakes his hand.

"Goodbye, Andrew, Jack."

We leave Candor and on our way back home we both remain silent. The fact that Jeremy was capable of all those things makes me shudder and I wrap my arms around myself. When Tobias notices that he turns to me briefly.

"Are you alright?" he asks concerned.

"No. Until this is over I won't be. Tobias, what this little shit did is unforgivable and I can't believe none of these girls would say something" I say frustrated.

"They were probably scared of him" Tobias says.

"I don't know. And Monica? She knows she would be safe, doesn't she?" I ask looking his way.

"Babe, Monica just transferred to Dauntless. She doesn't know how things work in our faction."

"What are we going to tell the faction?" I ask and look ahead as does Tobias.

"The truth. We will leave out the names of the victims and tell them what happened. I think we should involve the entire faction" he says vaguely.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you are right. We can't do all by ourselves. If we want things to change for the better everyone needs to help doing that. You were right in the cafeteria. Just because something doesn't happen in Dauntless doesn't mean we should just ignore it. What happened in the factionless sector could have happened in Dauntless. What happened in Erudite happened right under our noses. Who's to say that something that happened in Abnegation doesn't happen in Amity or Candor?" he asks, hinting at his childhood.

"I know. And it's not so much the what or where but the why is no one caring that bothers me. I mean we all live in the same city, we all share everything. How come we don't share the problems as well? We need to do something about this. Today, rather than tomorrow."

"I hope you didn't mean that literally, because I tell you I'm exhausted for today" he says with a chuckle.

"You know what I mean" I say and punch his shoulder lightly.

"I do. Listen. We should talk to Tori before anyone else. Could you call her to meet us in my office in fifteen minutes?" Tobias asks and I nod. I take out my phone and dial her number.

"Tori? Hi, it's Tris. Could you meet me and Four in his office in fifteen minutes?" I ask and she agrees. I hang up and for the remainder of the drive we don't say anything.

We soon arrive at the compound and Tobias drives into the garage. He parks the car and we get out. Hand in hand we walk up to his office where we find Tori already waiting outside of Tobias's office.

"Thank you for meeting us here" Tobias says to Tori after we entered and sat down.

"No problem. How'd it go?" she asks.

"Good and bad" I say.

"I don't understand."

"Good, because his guilt was proven" Tobias starts saying and I finish.

"Bad, because he is a serial offender."

"What?" Tori asks gasping.

"Just like you heard" I say.

"Oh my God. That's terrible" she says.

"The terrible part is he doesn't seem to care or understand what he did. He told us under truth serum that the girls wanted to be raped. In his mind he didn't force the, they just pretended they didn't want to."

"What a sick little bastard" Tori says furious.

"I told him that regardless of the court's decision he is factionless. I hope you don't mind I made that decision without consulting you first" I say bashful.

"Don't worry, Tris. I would have done the same" she says and I smile at her.

"I told her the same." We continue by telling her everything that happened at Candor and that we needed to tell Dauntless all about it, leaving the names of the victims out. She of course agreed with us. We also decide to raise sexual abuse awareness among our faction members, but we still needed to figure a few things out.

"I think we need a psychologist or something like that" I say.

"What for?" Tobias asks confused. This idea just crossed my mind.

"You know I told you that it would be good for Monica to talk to someone, maybe someone who doesn't know her, someone professional who can help her through this. Maybe we need someone permanently appointed for situation like this one" I explain.

"I think that's a great idea, Tris" Tori says smiling, but then her smile fades.

"What is it?" I ask tentatively.

"A few years ago, before any of you came here. I had a friend, Jacey. She was raped. She only told me because she broke down one night and couldn't keep it anymore. I spend many hours talking to her, trying to help her as best as I could, but I didn't know what to do or what to say to her. I had to watch how she detached herself from everyone every day a little bit more until one morning when she was pulled out of the chasm. I swore that things would change and I would help change them. But our former leaders didn't care much for that. I think it's needless to say why" she says and we both nod.

"Do we even know such a person?" Tobias asks.

"We don't. But maybe Dr. Morris. Let me give him a call" I say and dial his number. After the third ring he picks up. "Hello Dr. Morris, it's Tris."

"Hello Tris" he says cheerful. "How may I help you?" I get up and walk behind Tobias's desk, since he engaged in a conversation with Tori.

"I wanted to ask you if we have a psychologist, preferably a woman" I say.

"We have two psychologists, as a matter of fact and one is female. Dr. Stephanie Barnet. May I ask why?" he inquires.

"You'll understand later today. Four, Tori and I have an announcement. Would it be possible to send her up to Four's office, as soon as possible?" I ask.

"Let me check if she's in the infirmary" he says and I hear him stroke a few keys on his keyboard. "She is here indeed. I'll go over to her and tell her that you send for her" he says.

"Thank you, Dr. Morris. I really appreciate it" I say. We say goodbye and hang up. I return to the couch where Tobias and Tori are discussing something.

"I talked to Dr. Morris. He will send Dr. Stephanie Barnet up to us. She is a psychologist" I inform them and they nod. "So, what were you guys talking about?" I ask as I sit next to Tori on the couch and in front of Tobias who is sitting in the armchair across from us.

"That there's too much work for the three of us. We need help. We should add one or maybe two leaders" Tori says.

"Anyone in mind?" I ask.

"We both thought of Connor Harris" Tobias says.

"Connor would be perfect for the job. I've been working closely with him because he is often present during council meetings. He understands politics and his heart beats for our faction" I say.

"Wow, that was quite the endorsement" Tobias says chuckling.

"Well, it's true. But are we going to offer him the job just like that or will he have a trial period like Tori?" I ask.

"Unlike me, he had years of experience and knows a lot more than the three of us combined. I think we can tell him to think about it and just tell us if he wants to take the job or not" Tori says.

"I agree. You had only the trial period because you never had a job like this before. It was primarily for all of us to see if this would actually be something you like doing" Tobias says.

"Surprisingly, I love my job, even though I miss the parlor from time to time. You know, very late at night when my brain starts to shut down and I can actually think of myself for a minute before I fall asleep" she says with a chuckle.

"Very Abnegation of you" I say teasing.

"Yeah, maybe I would have fit in there as well" she says jokingly before she says "naw". We laugh at that but stop when a knock is heard on the door. Tobias tells the person to come in and a tall woman with red hair and white lab coat walks in. We all get up and I walk toward her and shake her hand.

"You must be Dr. Stephanie Barnet, right?" I ask and she nods. "Hi, I'm Tris, this is Tori and that's Four" I say and point toward each of them when I say their names.

"Yes, I know. Hello I'm Stephanie" she says.

"Hello Dr. Barnet" Tobias says.

"Please, call me Stephanie" she says.

"Alright, Stephanie" he says.

Stephanie shakes hands with Tori and Tobias and we all sit down. We tell her what this is all about, leaving Monica's name out of it.

"How exactly can I help you?" she asks.

"This is what we want to do" Tori says. "We want to raise sexual abuse awareness. But many won't just come out and say Hey, I was abused. We need someone to be available to talk to them. It's all anonymous and off the records. But if there is suspicion that someone is a rapist and he or she is still out there we need to be informed and we'll see from there. But what is important is that people know that we care and we won't permit any of this and the culprits will be punished."

"Alright. Just tell me when and where and I'm available no matter what. Thank you for considering me, even though I'm so young" she says.

"How young are you?" I ask curious.

"Twenty-two" she says.

"That's not that young. Besides I asked Dr. Morris for a female doctor because if I would be in a similar situation I wouldn't want to talk to a man" I tell her honestly.

"Me neither. But I'll show you that you made the right decision giving me this opportunity" she says smiling.

"You do know this is not changing your status or salary?"Tobias asks.

"Yeah, but I don't mind. As long as I can help people it'll be my privilege" she says and I smile at her.

We dismiss her and Tobias walks to his desk and makes the announcement. He asked everyone to come to the Pit after supper at eight p.m. for the announcement.

Just as we prepare to leave the office and head home to relax a little after this stressful day my phone rings and I pick up.

"Hello?" I ask. I haven't looked who called, just answered.

"Hello Beatrice" I hear Evelyn's voice.

"Hi Evelyn. Did you want to call Tobias?" I ask while we walk outside his office.

"No. I wanted to talk to you" she says. Tobias gives me a questioning look and I point toward me. He nods and grabs my hand leading me up the stairs to our apartment.

"What is it? How can I help you?" I ask.

"We checked every person in the factionless sector. We found four people missing. Three men and a woman. One of the men is Edward and the woman is Myra" she says in a very serious tone. I stop in my tracks and Tobias is startled by my abrupt standstill.

"What?" I ask. "Are you sure?"

"We checked three times. Of course we don't have records like you guys in the factions, but everyone knows everyone around here. Both of them, along with two other men are missing. And that's not all. A few people said that Myra and Edward spend the last few weeks in the place that burned" she says.

"Oh my God" is all I can say. I can't believe it. Evelyn keeps talking but I can't answer anymore. I hand Tobias the phone and after a brief exchange with his mother he hangs up.

"I can't believe it" he says exactly what I'm thinking.

"Me neither."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope you hate Jeremy.
> 
> Someone dear to me offered to help me with the emotional part regarding rape victims coping mechanisms, but I decided otherwise. I'm sorry, sweetie. I just don't want to (you know who you are and why I don't want to ask). 
> 
> Some of you might have guessed already about Myra and Edward. But what happened? Who killed them? Why?
> 
> I've decided to add another leader since some of you already suggested this a while ago. Also, those of you who read the smut-shots, yeah I call'em that :), I'm planning on writing and posting soon another smut-shot - teacher-student role play. When is still uncertain, but soon.
> 
> And starting July 13th I'm on vacation. Lots a time to think about plot twists and babies and smuts and I'll be able to write more. Hopefully my muse won't abandon me *fingers crossed.*
> 
>  
> 
> Love you all. Till next Saturday.
> 
> Cloakseeker


	76. Chapter 76

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: My fellow Divergent crazy fangirls and fanboys. I want to thank you all for following this story and commenting. It means a great deal. This is what I love about fan fiction and fan fiction sites - you get instant feedback from the people you care about - the readers. I've posted a smut-shot called Making you come in Four lessons - check it out. I'll think of a few more, but they usually come unexpected to me.   
> Love you all.
> 
> Enjoy!

76

We both sit down on the couch, trying to get our heads around this new development in the arson case in the factionless sector. I had a strange feeling ever since we discovered the fire, but I just assumed it was the adrenaline and then finding out that someone perished in the flames. The fact that Dr. Robins told me that both victims were already dead and the fire was meant to cover their murder didn't help with the uneasy feeling. Everything we learn in this case seems more gruesome than what we knew before. As far as we know there are three factionless men missing, Edward among them. But there's only one woman, Myra. So it would be safe to assume that she is the one who died and then set on fire. Also, given the fact that for the past few months Myra became Edward's shadow lets me believe that he is the male victim.

"How can we find out if it's indeed them?" Tobias asks.

"DNA" I answer.

"Explain."

"Simple. Even now there should be enough tissue left underneath the burned flesh to extract enough DNA to run some genetic tests. We already know Myra's father and we could ask him for a sample to compare it to hers. We just need someone from Edward's family to do the same. If the samples don't match then that we'll mean the victims aren't Myra and Edward. But that doesn't mean they don't deserve to rest in peace. And for that we need to find out what happened and bring the culprit to justice."

"Wow" is all he says and I give him a questioning look. "You sure would have done great in Erudite" he adds and smiles at me.

"Yeah, maybe. Although if I would have chosen Erudite I wouldn't have met you, fallen deeply and irrevocably in love with you and we wouldn't be married now" I say and grab his left hand and caress his wedding band with my right thumb.

"That's true. I'm really glad you chose Dauntless" he says before kissing me softly. When we part we lean our foreheads together and smile at each other goofily.

"Besides, I had a lifetime of Caleb telling me what to do. I wasn't planning on continuing it" I say jokingly.

"Yeah, that's why you didn't chose Erudite. Right" he says giving me a look that says you can't fool me.

"You want to go to the cafeteria to eat or should we eat something here?" I ask.

"Let's eat at home. I'm not really in the mood for chit-chat. We still have a difficult task ahead of us." He gets up and walks into the kitchen. "How about steak?" he asks and I nod. I let him cook, since he is much better at cooking steak than I am. Then again it's one of his favorites. I really should learn making it too.

I lean back into the couch and allow Tobias start cooking on his own. I flip through my contacts on my phone until I reach Samantha's number. I push the dial button and wait for her to pick up.

"Hello Tris" she says cheerful.

"Hello Sam. How are you?" I ask her, trying to be polite, before I come crushing down and ask for her help.

"I'm good, thank you for asking. Initiation is a little stressful, but thankfully the initiates this year are really a joy. How are you?"

"Stressed out with initiation and leadership. You know, same ol', same ol'" I say jokingly.

"So, what do you need?" she asks directly. She already knows that I never call just to say hi. Maybe I should do that. That's the polite way to do it anyways.

"Wow. I'm that obvious?"

"I know you by now, my dear friend. So, how can I help you?" she asks serious now.

"You probably heard about the fire in the factionless sector. I just received a phone call from Evelyn Johnson and she told me that three men and a woman are missing. I know one of the men and the woman. They were both initiates last year. The woman's name is Myra Jenkins. Her father is liaison between our factions. One of the men is her ex-boyfriend, Edward. I thought since they both came from Erudite maybe you could help me."

"How can I help you? They aren't members of Erudite" she says surprised.

"Simple. You can find out if there is anyone from Edward's family that could offer a tissue and blood sample to the coroner investigating this matter. I thought we could compare DNA from the two victims to a first degree relative of Myra and Edward" I explain.

"Hm" she says, thinking about my proposal. "That might work."

"But Sam you can't tell them why we need the samples. It is possible that the two victims aren't Myra and Edward and I don't want to upset their families. Let's keep it between us for now" I ask her.

"Don't worry, Tris. Every member of Erudite is required to give a DNA sample at least one time in their life. I can send a sample to the coroner and ask him to compare it to the DNA of the victims. What's his name?" she asks.

"Dr. Robins. I don't have a first name or if he told me I completely forgot" I say bashful.

"Doesn't matter. I'll find him. There aren't many coroners and even if there were more than one Dr. Robins I doubt more than one is in charge of this case. I'll get back to you as soon as I know more" she promises.

"Thank you, Sam. For all your help I mean. And I'm sorry I only call when I need something."

"It's okay. But if you want to make it up to me you need to bring me some of that delicious cake you bake" she says.

"Ah, I see Dauntless cake did it to you. How about you and your husband come over this or next weekend for lunch. Four and I would love to have you. Besides my husband loves to use that grill of his. But then I have to drag his sorry ass out to clean that damn thing. He once left it dirty over night, claiming he was too tired. The next morning he had the stomach flu, also known as he ate too many hot dogs and of course he couldn't clean it. So while he was lying half dead on the couch and puking over my freshly cleaned carpet every once in a while, I had the extreme pleasure to not only clean the grill, but also the carpet. And the bathroom and the bedroom floor" I tell her and she laughs.

"I know what you mean. Trevor is just the same. God forbid you tell them they are human and they might get sick and they give you an endless speech on how men don't get sick. It's their duty to watch over their women."

"Right? I thought I was the only one with this problem" I say laughing.

"Only for them to really get sick and then all you hear is honey can you bring me some water or honey my feet are cold, honey I can't reach the remote control even though it's about two inches away from them. Tell me about it. I swear, Trevor and I were thinking about having a baby but frankly I already have one" she says and I can barely keep it together.

"Oh my God, me too."

We finish our talk and Sam promises she would text me later to tell me if she got all the information she needs to get in contact with Dr. Robins. I get up and walk into the kitchen were Tobias is almost done.

"So I'm a burden" he says not looking at me.

"Sexiest burden alive" I say. "Besides even though I had twice as much work that day I would have done three times the work if it meant getting you better. I hate seeing you sick" I say and kiss his arm. He puts the same around me and holds me close.

"You girls sure had a nice laugh" he says.

"Yeah, we compared our babies for a while before we made plans for two weeks from now on Saturday" I say.

"Babies?" he asks confused and looks down to me.

"Yeah, you and Trevor. We both agree that you two are a handful and we aren't really sure if adding a real baby would make you grow up or become even more like a baby" I say trying to keep a straight face.

"Hey, I ain't no baby" he says frowning.

"Oh, yeah. You are. You are my baby" I say and lean up to kiss his pouting lips. He immediately reciprocates it and we end up making out in the kitchen. We finally pull apart and Tobias returns to his task before turning to look at me again.

"Does this mean we stop trying for a little one?" he asks seriously.

"No, of course not. Sam and I were just having fun. I love you more than anything, even when you puke over my carpet" I say and he laughs.

"Come on. The next day after the puking incident I took the carpet to the cleaners and they got it all new."

"Yeah, that's true. Doesn't mean I like it. I would have preferred you not puking at all" I say and caress his face. He leans into my touch and turns his head to press a gentle kiss into my palm and we both smile. "So, how can I help you?" I ask.

"Could you take out plates and silverware? The steaks are almost done. And could you prepare the lettuce salad?"

"Sure. You want some beer or wine?"

"No. Some ice water will suffice. We still have some work left before we can finally turn in and call it a day. Or a night actually."

We eat at the kitchen island avoiding talking about the fire, the interrogation, initiation or anything work related for that matter. Tobias and I discuss inviting Jack and Vanessa, as well as Caleb and Cara over for lunch in two weeks. We end up deciding to have a small get together with our friends, both Dauntless and otherwise. He even suggests a Candor and Dauntless section after lunch, which I'm sure both Pedrad brothers will enjoy.

After we finish I offer to clean up while Tobias brushes his teeth and gets ready to go down to the Pit. When I'm done in the kitchen I run upstairs to do the same and just before seven thirty we descend to the Pit. To my surprise we run into a few initiates and Monica is among them. I tell Tobias that I need to talk to her and he nods and leaves us alone. I wait for the other initiates to walk away so that I can talk to her alone.

"I'm not going to keep you long" I tell her and she nods. "This afternoon Four and I went to his interrogation" I say. It's needless to utter his name. We both know who I mean. "I'm sure he will be found guilty and convicted. I don't know what the penalty is, but he is not allowed to return to our faction. You are safe from him" I tell her and for the first time since this awful thing happened to her she offers a genuine relieved smile.

"Thank you, Tris" she says and surprises me by hugging me.

"No problem. I do have two more things to tell you. First, I've spoken to a female psychologist here in Dauntless, Dr. Stephanie Barnet. I'd like you to meet with her to talk about what happened to you. You can of course choose not to do that, but I strongly encourage you to at least give it a shot. And don't worry, no one needs to know. We actually plan on making this a thing here in Dauntless. I don't know if other women went through something similar, but in the event they did I want them to know there's somebody here they can talk to. And don't worry, those files are sealed. No one has to know."

"I'll think about it" she says apprehensive. I can tell the thought of talking about it doesn't appeal to her, but I really believe someone professional could help her with this.

"The second thing, Four and I will inform the faction about what happened to Jeremy. We will leave your name out of course, but they deserve to know the truth about that little scumbag" I tell her and decide to not tell her about the other rape victims. She will learn about them when the others do too. "I've talked to both Four and Tori about raising sexual abuse awareness around here, so it's important for the faction to understand why we are doing this and that we don't want any repeat of what happened."

"I understand" she shyly says.

"Now go. Your friends are probably wondering why I stopped you" I say.

"What should I tell them?" she suddenly asks scared.

"Tell them I wanted to check if you are alright after your fight and that I expect the girls tomorrow morning 8 a.m. sharp in the training room. I will announce it during the meeting as well, but tell your friends I mainly wanted to check on you" I tell her. She nods and walks away. I make my way to the cafeteria were most Dauntless are still finishing their supper. I sit next to Tobias and look around the table. All of our friends are here.

"Hey, Tris" Shauna says uncharacteristically shy.

"Hey, Shauna" I say.

"I'm sorry" she says.

"No. I'm sorry. I know you didn't mean it that way. I overreacted. I'm sorry. You are my friend and we've known each other long enough for me to know that" I say bashful.

"It's okay. Besides you weren't completely wrong. And I'm ashamed of my own indifference toward others" she says.

"It's not that. Maybe. I don't know. So many things happen every day and people just seem to care less and less. And it really bugs me" I say frustrated.

"So, what's this announcement all about?" Uriah asks, trying to change the subject.

"You'll find out soon enough" Tobias says in full Four mode.

"Oh, come on, man" Uriah whines.

"I said you'll find out soon enough" Tobias repeats and glares at him. Uriah backs down.

"There is a big announcement for the faction and a smaller one for the initiates" I say and Tobias turns to look at me. "I want the girls tomorrow in the training room to teach them some self-defense moves" I say and Lauren nods.

"Why? Haven't you taught them that already?" Uriah asks.

"Yes, but I have a feeling after our announcement they will want some extra pointers on how to take down a fully grown man" I explain, although I doubt he understood.

"Alright, then Uriah and I will take the boys and practice shooting on the roof" Tobias says and I give him a small smile.

We tell our friends about the little get together two weeks from now and they all start talking and planning.

"What did you talk with Monica" Tobias asks in his mind.

"I told her that we went to Jeremy's interrogation and that I have no doubt he will be convicted. But even if he won't get prison time he is banished from Dauntless."

"Good. But you stayed behind for a while."

"Yeah. I suggested she should pay Dr. Barnet a visit. She didn't seem like she wanted to, but I encouraged her at least to try it out once. I also told her that we wanted to raise sexual abuse awareness among the faction and encourage other victims to seek help."

"I hope she goes to see the doctor" Tobias says.

"Me too. I don't even want to imagine how she is feeling right now. But if what I went through after the chasm incident is any indication then she really needs someone to talk to. I at least had Will and Christina. And you of course. But what happened to me wasn't as extreme as what happened to her."

"It wasn't the same but it was extreme. You could have died, Tris" he says and I look into his dark blue eyes filled with sadness.

"Don't be sad, honey. You saved me that night. And it doesn't do good to dwell on past events" I say.

"Babe, you hang out way too much around your dad. You talk just like him" Tobias says with a chuckle.

"Really? I haven't noticed that" I say.

Tobias looks at his watch and points toward it. I see it reads almost eight p.m. We get up and walk into the Pit where most of the faction has already gathered. Tobias climbs onto the big rock and Zeke hands him, like so many times before, a microphone. He helps me up and we stand next to each other. Boy, this is going to be hard.

"Do you want me to tell them about Jeremy or do you?" Tobias asks in his mind again.

"Could you please do that?"

"Of course. You should tell the initiates first about the training schedule for tomorrow" he suggests.

"Alright. Tobias, when you tell the faction about how we found out don't say it was an initiate. Say it was a member. This way no one will suspect who the victim is" I tell him and he kisses my cheek before whispering in my ear "Okay". We wait a few more minutes and then Tobias starts talking into the microphone.

"My fellow Dauntless, we have gathered you here to give you some disturbing news. But before that I will allow Tris to address the initiates first" he says and hands me the microphone.

"This is going to be short. All the girls are expected tomorrow morning sharp in the training room, while the boys will go to the roof for target practice. Don't be late" I say serious and look toward them and see some of them nod. I then hand the microphone back to Tobias who takes a deep breath. This is as hard for him as it is for me.

"A couple of weeks ago one of our initiates, Jeremy Carmichael, sexually assaulted a female Dauntless member" he says and I look toward Monica. She looks both surprised and shy. "The moment we found out about it my fellow leaders and I alerted the authorities and the culprit was taken to Candor HQ. Both victim and assailant were interrogated today, both under truth serum, and there's no doubt that Jeremy is a rapist. Regardless of the court's and the council's decision regarding his punishment Tori, Tris and I have decided to make him factionless. He is not welcome here anymore" Tobias says and most of those gathered here stomp their feet in approval.

"Who is the victim?" a woman in the crowd asks.

"For her own protection she wishes to remain anonymous and I urge you to respect that" Tobias says, his Four mask firmly in place.

"Why weren't we notified sooner?" a man asks.

"We needed to investigate the matter. Before today we only had suspicions and we couldn't just go around and accuse people. Jeremy, like anyone, deserved a fair trial, which he got. Besides, as I already said, the victim has the right to remain anonymous."

"When will we learn about his punishment?" another woman asks.

"Tomorrow or the day after that, probably" Tobias says.

"Why does it take that long?" the same woman asks.

"Yeah, I thought it was proven that he is a rapist" someone in the back says.

"It has been proven that he raped one victim" Tobias cautiously says. I grab the microphone and decide to stand by my husband.

"During his interrogation some disturbing details about his life before Dauntless came to light. It appears he abused seven other females. The Erudite faction leader is already investigating the matter and tries to locate the other victims. Pending on their testimony the court will most likely decide on a punishment. But even if those other women weren't victims one is more than enough" I finish explaining and the crowd starts to talk and argue and shout "rapist". Tobias grabs the microphone from my hand and yells into it.

"Silence." He then hands the microphone to Tori and whispers something to her which I can't hear since he bends down a little on his other side so that only she can hear him. When he straightens up Tobias motions me to hop down and allow Tori to speak to the Dauntless crowd.

"Given these recent events my fellow leaders and I decided a few things. First Dr. Stephanie Barnet, who is an excellent psychologist, accepted our request to counsel potential other rape victims. If anyone of you, male or female, is a victim of sexual abuse, please get in touch with her. She can help you. The sessions are private and the file is undisclosed. You don't have to fear anything. Also, we want to urge you to step forward, not necessarily in public, but at least come to us, your leaders" she says and motions toward Tobias and me and then herself "and tell us if something like this happened to you. Let us help you, but more importantly help us avoid any more victims. In the next few weeks we will start a sexual abuse awareness campaign here in the faction and we would appreciate volunteers to help us. Tris and Lauren also agreed to teach you self-defense techniques, if you like. I sure as hell will sharpen my kickass skills" she says and the crowd chuckles. "Secondly, most of you are aware of the little meltdown Tris had in the cafeteria today" she says and looks at me smiling. What the hell is she doing? And what does she mean by meltdown? "I couldn't agree more with her and I know some of you agree too. It's irrelevant where in the city it happened. The point is it happened and it could have happened here. We as Dauntless are in charge of protecting everyone inside the city, that means the factionless too. Besides crimes and misfortune transcend factions. This Jeremy fellow came from Erudite and he raped girls there and here. Who's to say other's don't do the same. It is our responsibility to grow as human beings and widen our horizon. If we want long lasting peace we need to work for it. Today, not tomorrow. I want to have kids some day and I want them to be as safe as possible. We don't know what lies beyond the fence, but we know what's inside. And to be honest I'm disgusted. I'm disgusted with our indifference toward human misery. When Tris started working with the council and started changing things I know some of you looked at her surprised and believed she was wrong. But now I see. She is right. We can all make this place better. For us, for our children, for everyone. But we all need to do something. We could have had a beautiful city by now if our former leaders, from all the factions, would have worked out differences and started actually building and rebuilding this place. There's an old saying: it takes a village to raise a child. We all are the village and the city is the child. Let us all raise it and make it better and more beautiful than it ever was, even before the war" she says and the crowd erupts in cheers. God, I love my loud faction.

Tori comes down and hands Zeke the microphone. We make our way to the Pire and leave the loud crowd behind us. Tori and Dwayne decided to hang around a while longer and answer questions, but Tobias and me just want to go home and get a good night's sleep. I am out the minute my head hits the pillow.


	77. Chapter 77

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi everyone! This week I've posted a new chapter to my drabble collection Moments we share called Pillow talk. I've also posted a one-shot called Shotgun that I can easily see as an epilogue for this story (not there yet). And a crossover between Divergent and The Hobbit called Of dragons and phoenixes. And another one-shot last Sunday called You're worth it. This one is featuring the missing scene in the Insurgent movie, right after Marlene's death and Tris leaving Factionless. Check them out and tell me what you think.
> 
> Enjoy this new chapter of YAMATW!

77

It's Friday morning and we are all gathered in the training room letting the initiates fight each other. Today is the last day they will fight and tonight we'll have the annual Capture the flag competition. A lot happened this week.

Let me bring you up to speed.

First, the Jeremy issue. On Tuesday, right after breakfast, Samantha called telling me that she identified four of the rape victims, who were taken to Candor for their interrogation. Just like with Monica the interrogation was held privately with no spectators. The other three girls transferred to other factions, but Sam didn't tell me what they chose. Not that it mattered. By the end of business all seven girls were interrogated and Jack called me to tell me that it looks grim for Jeremy. He of course still sustains his own version of the events and says that the girls are lying or they misunderstood. What a colossal jerk. Because of the fact that Jeremy isn't technically a member of any faction he is still considered a dependent and therefore a minor. They assigned a psychiatrist to evaluate him. I think everyone is trying to see if he is just an idiot or actually evil and just pretends to be this dumb. Jack assured me that by Monday we will get the final verdict.

Second, I wasn't surprised at all when no one went to see Stephanie. If anything happened to someone here in Dauntless they would sure as hell keep it to themselves. They are Dauntless after all. But few understand that being Dauntless isn't synonym with suffering in silence. So when on Thursday a middle aged woman, who works in accounting got up in the cafeteria and announced she will take our advice and talk to Stephanie everyone looked at her dumbfounded. She told the entire faction that 25 years ago she was raped and no one cared, let alone helped her passed this. She suppressed the memories but after our grand announcement Monday evening everything came back up. She encouraged others to do the same. And I'm pleased to say that Stephanie reported three more cases. Well, I'm not happy that there are any, but I'm glad those women seek professional help. And if they decide we can actually find their abusers and bring them to justice. But I won't force anyone. So far, our little campaign worked better than we anticipated. Tori suggested that if there are more people we could organize support groups. In my opinion that's a good idea, but on the other hand I understand if people don't want to pour their soul out in front of strangers. So for now Stephanie should suffice. But some moms here in Dauntless approached me yesterday asking me if I would consider lecturing their young daughters. I told them I wasn't the right person for it, Stephanie is the expert, but I would organize something. After the small group left an idea hit me and I called Tori and Tobias over. I told them about the request and they didn't really know what to say at first but then I told them my idea. This is how we decided to gather all the teens between the ages of thirteen and sixteen and discuss with them certain things, but before that we should have a talk with their parents. Since Tobias and I are still busy with initiation Tori offered to help us with that. After we finish stage two of training we will gather in the great conference hall with all the parents here in Dauntless and discuss a few items they brought to our attention and we too want to set up. We want to educate our kids and teach them to be responsible. To accept others the way they are and with that we hope to avoid bullying or worse. We will divide the kids later into groups according to age and have long talks with them, with or without their parents. But that's still ahead of us.

Third, Connor Harris was officially named our forth leader and we all discussed even adding a fifth leader since it is customary to have an uneven number of leaders. But so far we haven't decided. The faction welcomed Connor very well, especially since most of them already knew him and respect him greatly. He has good ideas to improve life in the faction and even a few to help me with the city. I think I will benefit most of his help.

Forth, Sam called me Tuesday after lunch telling me she reached Dr. Robins and ordered to get him the DNA samples. It took until yesterday evening to get back the DNA test results. The female victim is indeed Myra, but the male is unknown. It wasn't Edward after all, but he is still missing and we still don't know the identity of the man who died. This case is getting weirder by the minute. The moment I think I get an answer two more questions pop up and I get more than just a little frustrated.

On top of all that Marcus Eaton complains to everyone who wants to listen that I spend too much time investigating two deaths in the factionless sector and don't do my job properly as a Council member. To shut him up I asked Connor to take my place. This will shut that bastard up for a while.

I called Evelyn to inform her about the developments in the case and she told me that the missing men are still missing. She can't find them anywhere and fears the worst. I can't blame her. I do to.

I'm standing next to Tobias watching the initiates fight each other when someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and find Connor standing there with a file.

"Hey Tris, Four" he says to us.

"Hey Connor" I say and Tobias shakes his hand. "What brings you here in this sweat and blood infested hell hole?" I ask and he chuckles.

"It's not that bad" Tobias says and gives me a look.

"You're right. But then again I forgot to say reeking of fear cavern" I say and stick my tongue out in a teasing manner. Tobias just shakes his head but smiles a little.

"How can we help you, Connor?" Tobias asks him, the ex-ambassador a peculiar sight in the training room.

"I received this file from Erudite. It's from a Mr. Jenkins. He said I should give it to you" he says and hands me the folder.

"Is he still here?" I ask.

"No, he was just dropping this off. He was in a hurry" Connor informs us.

"Okay, thank you" I say and open the folder. I start reading while Connor goes and stands next to Tobias, who explains to him how the initiates are doing. I read the file carefully. It seems like Mr. Jenkins found our point thief. Steven Mitchells, Erudite born, transferred to Dauntless three years before Tobias. Worked in the control room until he was fired. He had an altercation with a co-worker and after he tried to push the same into the chasm he was made factionless around the time I joined Dauntless. Two weeks before to be exact. I take a picture of the photograph attached to the file and send it to Evelyn. If he was made factionless Evelyn might know him or someone there might know him. Maybe we can identify him and bring him to justice. It's not okay to steal. Just after I send the text message my phone rings. Evelyn, of course.

"Hi, Evelyn" I say as I pick up.

"Hello Tris" she says. It's sometimes confusing how she alternates calling me Beatrice one moment and Tris the next, but I got used to it. "What's with the picture?"

"Remember that I told you about a thief?" I ask.

"Yes. Is this him?"

"Yes. Last year he was made factionless and I was wondering if you know him or anyone there might have an idea where he currently is" I say hopeful.

"To be honest he doesn't look familiar to me, but I will show his picture around" she promises. "Any news in the arson case?"

"Not yet and to be honest I don't know how we'll find out more" I say frustrated.

"My people are still searching for the missing men. Tris?"

"Yes?"

"A thought crossed my mind. I know it's far-fetched but what if they are hiding somewhere?"

"I don't understand. What makes you think they are hiding?" I ask her confused.

"For the past few months I received reports that even though Edward kept his distance from others around here he often got into fights and made enemies. I was thinking that maybe someone around here wanted to hurt him."

"Yeah, but the male victim isn't Edward" I argue.

"Yes, but what if the person responsible didn't realize that?" she suggests.

"Maybe. But we need to find out who the male victim is" I tell her.

"Yes, but it can only be one of two people. I will keep some of my men searching the city for Edward and the other missing men, but I hoped you could help me."

"Help you how?"

"What if they somehow looked for refuge in one of the factions?" she asks.

"What makes you say that?" I inquire.

"We've searched everywhere but the factions" she says.

"I can only send pictures of them to the faction leaders and ask them to keep an open eye. Do you have some pictures?" I ask her.

"No" she says almost defeated.

"Do you know how they look like? Could you describe them?" I ask her, an idea already forming in my head.

"Yes, of course. Why?"

"A friend of mine is an artist. You could describe them to her and she could draw them. We can then copy the drawings and send them to the other factions" I tell her.

"That's a wonderful idea. When should I come to Dauntless or is your friend willing to come here?" she asks.

"Let me get back to you. I have to talk to her and see if she has enough time today. She is one of my fellow leaders."

"Alright. I'll be waiting for your phone call." We say goodbye and hang up. I dial Tori's number and wait for her to pick up.

"Hello Tris" she says.

"Hi, Tori. I have a huge favor to ask" I say straight forward.

"Sure. How can I help you?"

"As you know I help investigating the arson case in the factionless sector. My mother-in-law thinks that the missing men are maybe hiding, for reasons unknown, in one of the factions" I tell her.

"Why would she think that?" Tori asks surprised.

"Because the factionless looked everywhere in the city except the factions."

"Okay. But how can I help you?"

"I need to send pictures to the other leaders, but Evelyn doesn't have any. I figured maybe she could describe them to you and you could draw them" I say hopeful.

"Sure. No problem."

"When would it be best for you?" I ask her.

"Whenever it's fine for you guys. Just give me a call when your mother-in-law is here" she says.

"Alright. Thank you." I hang up and call Evelyn again. She immediately picks up and we agree that she should come over as soon as possible. I set up the meeting in Tori's office for two p.m. and let Tori know. I finally hang up the phone and look over the file Mr. Jenkins brought me. I wonder if he knows about Myra. I don't think anyone told him. Sam and I agreed to keep this hushed up until we know more, but it has been almost a week. We've already positively identified that the female victim is Myra. Maybe we should tell her family. They have the right to know and prepare for a funeral.

I shake those thoughts out of my head for now and resume reading the file. I don't know why but this Steven Mitchells looks familiar to me. But if he left two weeks before I started initiation I couldn't have met him. Maybe I read his file while learning about the Dauntless members when Tobias and I became leaders; maybe that's where I know him from.

I'm so engrossed in the file that I almost have a heart attack when Tobias places his hands on my hips and pulls me back into his chest. I let out a yelp and immediately cover my mouth.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you" he says.

"It's okay. I was just too focused on the file" I say and look at him over my shoulder. He leans down and kisses my lips softly. "Four, what are you doing?" I ask in a hushed voice.

"Kissing my wife" he says matter-of-factly.

"I thought we agreed to keep it professional in the training room" I say.

"We are. There's no one here but us" he says with a sexy grin. I turn my gaze away from his mesmerizing dark blue eyes and look around. We are indeed alone. No initiate anywhere to be seen.

"Where are the initiates?" I ask him confused.

"I send them to lunch" he says and lets go of me.

"Lunch?" I ask confused before looking at my watch. Son of a bitch! "It's noon already?" I ask in disbelief although my watch clearly says so.

"Yeah. You were so engrossed in whatever you were doing that I just let you. I figured it is important" he says. "By the way, what were you doing?" he asks curious.

"Leading, apparently. Connor brought me this file" I say and hold it up. "It contains the information regarding our thief. I took a snapshot and send it to your mom. She promised to show it around, maybe we'll find him with her help."

"Why's that?" he asks confused. I forgot he doesn't know our thief was Dauntless and now is factionless.

"Oh, sorry. Our thief used to be a member of Dauntless, before he transferred from Erudite three years before you did. He worked in the control room and apparently had an argument with a co-worker. After he tried to push the same into the chasm he was made factionless" I explain.

"What?" Tobias asks in disbelief. "Give me that" he says and grabs the file from my hand. Tobias looks at the picture of the thief and I can see the shock on his face. His face whitens and his look is stern and cold.

"Do you know him?" I ask tentatively.

"I'm the guy he wanted to push into the chasm" Tobias says not taking his eyes off of the picture.

"What?" I almost yell.

"Yeah, he's name is Steve and he is a colossal jerk" Tobias says, his teeth grinding.

"Wait. What? Why didn't you tell me?" I demand. He turns to look at me confused.

"Honey, that was before I even met you. And he was kicked out of Dauntless a couple of weeks before initiation even started. By then I had other stuff on my mind and after that I just forgot" he says and closes the file.

"You forgot?" I ask disbelievingly. "How could you forget?"

"Tris, it's not like he is the first or the last jerk I will ever meet" Tobias says, trying to play things down.

"Tobias, I know that the world is full of jerks. You can be one too" I say.

"Hey" he protests but I continue my own thought.

"It's not about that. It's about the fact that someone tried to kill you. What if he would have succeeded? What if he will try it again?" I ask.

"First of all, I'm not a jerk" he defends. "Second I'm big enough to handle it. And third I doubt he will try anything. He is factionless and if he wanted to hurt me he could have done that plenty of times since he was kicked out."

"Maybe he is just patiently waiting for his opportunity" I say.

"He didn't seem like the type to just wait and do nothing. He is a hot-head and won't just stop because he is kicked out."

"Exactly" I say.

"Baby, I think you give this guy too much credit" Tobias tries to make me see his point, but his point is south of right.

"And I think you are blind. I do believe that he could wait long enough for an opportunity. He doesn't seem dumb. The fact that he managed to steal points for such a long time and not get caught means he is smart enough to cover his tracks and plan carefully every move" I say.

"Maybe. But now we got him. Now we just have to find him and bring him to Candor."

I simply nod, too exhausted to speak anymore. We finish in the training room and walk to the cafeteria hand in hand. Tobias is still holding the file and I wonder if there is any information in there as to how he did it. I'm really curious to find out how he tricked the program. As we walk through the Pit and past the chasm I shudder involuntarily and Tobias looks down at me.

"What's wrong?" he asks. I just nod my head toward the chasm and he nods in understanding. "Just forget it. I'm here and I'm fine. Besides if anyone ever messes with me again I'm sure my kickass wife will throw that guy down the chasm" he says playfully.

"You can bet your cute butt I will" I say and lean up to kiss his cheek. As we approach the cafeteria another thought crosses my mind. "What exactly triggered it?" I ask and Tobias looks confused for a moment.

"The chasm incident?" he asks.

"Yeah and everything until that point."

"To be honest, I don't know. After initiation I was approached several times to start a career in leadership, but I refused. Instead I went to work in the control room. From the first moment Steven seemed to hold a grudge against me. I never found out what he had with me and to be even more honest I didn't care. We got into a few fights and we were both sanctioned. Of course he blamed me for his misfortune although he always started it, but on the day he tried to push me into the chasm several people were there and heard the argument."

"What was is about, if you don't mind me asking."

"He accused me for being the cause of yet another sanction at work and for stealing his girlfriend" Tobias says. This last piece captures my attention and I stop in my tracks. We are a few feet away from our regular table and our friends seem to be oblivious of our presence in the cafeteria.

"Come again?" I ask.

"Don't worry. It's not true. It was a double date courtesy of Zeke. He wanted to hook up with that girl's friend and she didn't want to go out without her friend having a date as well. I reluctantly agreed, but within five minutes of talking to her I must have said something that pissed her off. She left annoyed and I ended up hanging out with Shauna complaining about Zeke" he tells me.

"Oh, I remember that date" I say and he looks at me confused.

"How? You weren't even here."

"No, but Shauna told me. She once told me that she can't imagine what you could have told me to make me your girlfriend. When I asked her why she told me you have the sensibility of rock and then she told me about this particular date. She actually said you might have reinvented speed dating" I say with a chuckle.

"Well, she wasn't the right one" he says and bends down to kiss me.

We sit down at our table and eat the delicious lunch making small talk with our friends. Some of them ask about the initiates and how they are doing while Christina tries to steer the conversation toward the party next Saturday. The girls tried to convince me to wear some sexy gown but I refused. We are having a barbecue after all and I want to feel comfortable. But somehow I ended up accepting to go to the club after we ate supper at our place. Tobias just shrugged when I looked his way and I just gave in. To be honest, I would have loved to have the night off, just me and my hubby. I talked to Sam, Vanessa and Cara and they also agreed to come to the club with us and Tobias offered to prepare some rooms for them so that they could spend the night in Dauntless. At first I wanted to say that they could sleep at our place, but Tobias quickly convinced me that he wanted me all to himself. And we all know what that means.

"How's the investigation going?" Will asks and for a moment I choke on my meal. How does he know about the thief?

"So far only the female victim was identified" Tobias says and I look at him. Oh. He meant the arson.

"There were three missing men and we still haven't found any to eliminate him as a potential victim" I add, leaving out the fact that we suspected Edward to be one of them and that he definitely isn't dead. Unlike Myra. Poor thing.

"So, you guys excited about tonight?" Marlene asks, changing the subject. For once I'm glad we talk about something different.

"Hell yeah" Uriah cheers.

"Me too" Christina says. Apparently all of our friends are coming tonight.

We have already decided that Tobias will be in charge of one team, while Uriah of the second. I accidently overheard that one of the initiates heard from a member what we are planning. Although it's not really a secret, the girls and I thought of messing with the little fuckers. Not even the guys know. After the teams are made the girls and I will say we will just watch from high vantage points. This way I'm sure Tobias won't follow me and the rest of the guys are too excited to even think twice about it and join the fun with the newbies. These little shits won't know what hit them and at the same time it will teach the guys a lesson in preparedness. Oh, I can't wait for tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What should Jeremy's punishment be?
> 
> What should the girls do during Capture the flag?


	78. Chapter 78

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi, sorry for delaying this chapter. I hope you enjoy it. This is my version of Capture the flag. Also I posted a few pictures on my Pinterest board. check them out.

78

Tobias and I get ready in our apartment for the big event tonight. Thanks to some help from Erudite the paintballs also have neuro-stim-darts attached to them. This way, when someone is hit he or she will feel the simulated pain of a real gunshot wound and given the position of the paint splatter it will be determined if the wound is lethal or not. For instance, if someone is hit in the arm or leg the person can still continue to play the game. However, if the person is hit in the torso or head the person will be considered dead. The point of this exercise is to teach the initiates team work, strategic thinking, spatial awareness and it also gives them a clear goal, capturing the flag.

"Nervous?" Tobias asks as he puts his boots on.

"No. Why would I be?" I ask amused.

"I don't know. It's your first year as a instructor and we have changed the rules a little bit" he says getting up and putting his black jacket on.

"More than you think" I say under my breath.

"What?" he asks.

"Uhm, nothing. I can't wait to see the initiates working their asses off" I quickly say, hoping he doesn't pry any further.

"Oh, okay." He holds out his hand and we walk out together. To our surprise (Tobias') Tori joins us together with Dwayne.

"Hi, Tori" I say. "Are you joining us tonight?" I ask, although I already know the answer.

"Yes. I thought now that I'm a leader I might as well do something like this" she says.

"I was a bit surprised to hear her say she wanted to join, but I'm happy she is" Dwayne says smiling at her.

"I think it's great. I suppose you will both join our team?" Tobias asks them.

"Sure" Dwayne answers quickly.

"Uhm, I think I'll just find a place high up and watch the action. I'm not really the commando type" she says somewhat shyly.

"But, babe, it'll be fun. And I will protect you" Dwayne tries to convince her. Tobias and I chuckle at the interaction, but don't say anything.

"Maybe next year. Tonight I'll just watch" she says and he sighs in defeat.

"Alright. Well I guess then you'll have to watch your man kick some initiate ass" Dwayne says with a laugh.

"Hey" I say and they look at me. "You are not supposed to do that" I scold. "We don't want to scare them more than they are. Keep it clean" I say.

"Alright, Tris" he says.

We walk down to the tracks where we meet the initiates and the rest of the people who want to join the game. I look around for Christina and Lynn. They both announced in the cafeteria that they would officially join, but Marlene and Shauna told us they couldn't. Shauna said she didn't want to leave her baby and Marlene had to work. Both big fat lies. Shauna and Marlene are already at the Navy Pier hidden. Christina, Lynn and I will join them together with Tori and Lauren. For the past couple of weeks the girls and I trained a little bit more without the guys to know. We even trained Tori and I'm happy to say she is really good. But for the sake of our little plan we kept everything low-profile and top secret. I even got some super high-tech walkie-talkies from Cara, that are easily concealed by our clothes. Since Tori is wearing her hair down for now she is the only one with the earpiece in and communicates with the girls at the Pier.

The train approaches and Tobias and Uriah gather the initiates in one place. They tell them that if anyone stays behind he or she will be sanctioned. No kick outs, but whoever doesn't make it on the train will lose some points. They start running alongside the train and one by one every Dauntless and initiate here jumps on. Uriah, Tobias and I are the last ones. Uriah jumps on and I follow closely behind him and Tobias is the last one on.

"I love jumping on the train" Uriah says a little out of breath.

"Me too" I say and take a huge breath.

"Hey, Four. How come you barely broke out in a sweat?" Uriah asks.

"'Cause I'm not a pansycake who eats way too much Dauntless cake" Tobias answers and everyone around us, mainly our friends, laugh.

"Not fair, man" Uriah pouts.

"Stop pouting. Hunter is a baby and doesn't pout as much as you do" Zeke says hitting his younger brother over the head.

"Hey" shouts Uriah and we all laugh.

We've been driving for a while and I look out to see if we're almost there. Thankfully another ten minutes or so and we will arrive at the Pier. I elbow Tobias lightly and he looks outside the window and nods.

"Listen up" he says loudly. Uriah holds up one of the modified guns for everyone to see. "This year things are a little different. In former years we had a Capture the flag event and a paintball fight. This year we'll combine them in one. The guns are loaded with special designed darts. If you get hit the neuro-stim-dart will release a serum into the wound that will simulate a real gunshot wound. Hurts really bad, so make sure you don't get hit. Second, after you get hit a small paint container behind the neuro-stim-dart will color the wounded area. Don't worry, the paint doesn't hurt" he says, making a joke and half of the crowd laughs while the other one just looks at him incredulous. They aren't used to funny Four. Scary Four, yeah. Intimidating Four, sure. You're gonna shit your pants if you look at me Four, definitely. But funny Four… I think some might see this as a sign that the apocalypse is near. I chuckle to myself and Tobias looks at me confused. I just shake my head and walk to Tori.

Tobias and Uriah proceed to explain all there is to know about the rules and how things will work, while the girls and I gather around Tori to discuss our part in all this.

"Did you tell Four that you're not going to go with him?" Tori asks.

"No. I'll wait until the teams are put together. I'll tell him it will be easier to observe the initiates without being part of the game. We all know how competitive I am" I say and they laugh. "What about you Christina?"

"I told Will I had enough of this shit last year, but I will cheer him on" she says.

"Like the good little cheerleader that you are" Lynn says mockingly.

"Shut up" Christina punches her lightly in the arm and we laugh harder.

"What about you, Lauren?" Lynn asks her.

"I think Tris' idea is great. We can say that while Uriah and Four watch the initiates up close we can watch them from high above."

"Now to the teams" I hear Tobias say loudly. As it is tradition the two leaders select their team first from the group of initiates and then proceed to select from the Dauntless who join the war game. The initiates are quickly divided into two groups and now Tobias' and Uriah's attention is directed toward us. "Tris" Tobias says with a sexy smirk.

"Sorry, hun. I pass" I say and except for Zeke and Uriah who laugh their asses off everyone in the cart looks between the two of us like we're out of this world.

"What?" Tobias asks confused.

"Sorry. I won't be part of the team" I say, deliberately torturing him with my evasive answer.

"Why not?" he asks and every head in the cart turns from me to him and then back to me awaiting my answer. It's really hard to keep a straight face because frankly on the inside I'm rolling on the floor from so much laughter.

"Lauren and I thought it would be better to observe the initiates from up high. While you and Uriah are in the middle of it, we can observe them better. Why? There a problem, Four?" I ask stepping forward, my hands on my hips.

"No" he says a little dumbfounded. I decide I've teased him enough. Besides I don't want anyone to think that big, scary Four is afraid of his petite wife.

"I'd love to be on your team, but let's face it. If I would be part of this I would kick ass and the initiates and some Dauntless wouldn't stand a chance. I mean, I didn't rank first for nothing. And having two number ones on one team is hardly fair" I say sweetly.

"What are you doing?" he asks in his mind.

"Tori wanted to talk about something that can't wait" I tell him. I have no idea how I came up with this so quickly, but I'm glad I did.

"Alright. Uriah and I will lead the teams and Lauren and Tris will observe" Tobias announces.

"Oh, Lynn and Christina will join us also" I say and he nods. I return to my friends and wait for the train to slow down.

"That was awesome" Christina says.

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen Four speechless" Tori says laughing.

"Stop, guys. He'll hear you and I won't hear the end of it" I say chuckling. We agree to wait for the teams to head out before we meet up with Shauna and Marlene. They have already our gear hidden and ready for us. I head back to Tobias and grab his hand.

"Hey" he says with a small smile.

"Hey. I hope you're not mad" I say.

"For leaving me with these dimwits?" he asks chuckling. "I don't know if I can forgive you" he says jokingly.

"Not even if I promise that you'll have the time of your life tonight?" I ask trying to be as seductive as I can.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes."

"Well, then I'll have to bring down the opposing team as quickly as possible and get you, Mrs. Eaton, back home ASAP" he says before crashing his mouth on mine. We kiss quickly, trying to not ignite a fire in the middle of this crowd. We part and smile at each other.

"Hey, Four. Stop smooching your wife and lets go" Zeke yells and jumps off the train.

"Rain check?" he asks.

"Rain check, baby." Tobias jumps and I quickly follow. The girls and I gather a little away from the main crowd and wait for the two teams to disperse. The moment they are gone we put our earpieces in and look for Shauna and Marlene.

"Hey, girls" Shauna says coming out from behind one of the old booths.

"Hey. Everything ready?" Lauren asks. Shauna nods and beckons us to follow her. We enter a small shed where Marlene is already suited up and waiting for us.

"Wow, you girls sure had a lot to carry" Christina says.

"Not really" Marlene says. "Tris let us borrow the car earlier to bring to gear over here" she explains.

"Come on, girls. Let's get ready" Lauren says. We are already dressed in black clothes, but Shauna and Marlene brought helmets for all of us.

"How are we supposed to see anything through these?" Christina asks examining hers.

"Put it on" I say. They all do as I say and I do to.

"It's pitch black" Tori says frustrated.

"Put your hand on the right side of your helmet. There's a button. Can you feel it?" I ask. They all say yes. "Push it lightly."

"Wow. I can see" Marlene says excited.

"How is this possible?" Lynn asks.

"It's called nightvision. A while ago, I went to the public library and borrowed some old war books. In one of them was nightvision mentioned. I kept reading and understood what it meant. I then talked to Cara and gave her the book. She was able to recreate the tech and voila we are the first to use nightvision helmets in over two centuries" I explain.

"But what are they?" Christina asks.

"A long time ago, before the war, people needed to fight even during night time. But because of the darkness they couldn't see. Therefore someone made these. We can see during the night and the rest of the Dauntless can't."

"But there are lights everywhere" Marlene says.

"For now. Did you bring the map?" I ask Tori. She nods and pulls it out. "This map is of the Navy Pier. We not only see the location of each building, but you see these lines" I say pointing at them. The girls nod. "These are electrical lines and this over there is the main generator. Earlier this week while Lauren and I were thinking of how to do this one of my fellow councilmen called me to discuss the renovation of the electrical system here. It's very old and since the council decided to do something with this place we want to do it properly. Because of that I went to an emergency meeting and while Connor is now taking over for me until initiation is over I still had to go, being it partly my idea."

"I still don't get what that has anything to do with Capture the flag" Shauna says.

"Looking over the project I saw the electrical system and Jonah, one of the councilmen, mentioned that during the past few events held here the power gave out and the first thing we need to consider repairing is the electrical system and the plumbing. The moment he said that the power gives out it crossed my mind to use this to our advantage. This over here" I point at the map "is the generator. Earlier today Lauren came here and talked to the person in charge here. Fisher, the caretaker is factionless and was one of the first to let me help them. He got this job because of the campaign I started. He is very thankful and up until now I didn't need any favor, but he was more than willing to help out. So I send Lauren over here with a note asking him to explain to her how to turn off the power safely."

"That's right. He was really helpful. I was a bit apprehensive at first, but he is a very nice guy" Lauren says smiling.

"Okay, so how are we going to do this?" Marlene asks.

"Lauren and Shauna, you go and take out the power. Marlene, Lynn and Christina you stand by here and load the additional guns, while Tori and I climb the Ferris Wheel to see where our two teams are hiding. We will communicate via these small earpieces with integrated phone. They are all already set on the same frequency. So, if you don't want anyone to know one of your secrets I suggest you don't say anything. Cara wasn't able to work out the part to turn them on and off. They can be turned off completely by changing the frequency, but while we're on this mission I suggest no one messes with that. Questions?" I ask and look around.

"When do we start?" Christina asks.

"After Tori and I climb the Wheel we'll look out for the teams. The moment they start fighting each other we'll move out. The nightvision has a special feature that I haven't told you about yet. It can zoom in on places allowing us to get a better view of things. It's best used from high vantage points. The moment Shauna and Lauren reach the generator Tori and I will observe the area. When all hell breaks loose and the teams fight each other I will give you the go to turn down the power. From then on you'll all use the nightvision. Don't leave your hiding places until either Tori or I tell you to. Our rendezvous point will be the old carousel."

"Alright. Let's get started" Tori says. We each grab a gun and head out. Christina, Marlene and Lynn stay behind to load up the additional guns, while Tori, Shauna, Lauren and I leave the shed. Tori and I turn to the left toward the Ferris Wheel and Shauna and Lauren turn right and walk toward the generator. We all stay in the shadow avoiding anyone else. I doubt there's anyone close by since I haven't heard anything, but you'll never know. And the fact that we are so close the Ferris Wheel makes me think of Tobias. Maybe he lingered around this place.

We finally reach the Wheel and I go first, followed closely by Tori. We don't say anything trying to listen intently to our surroundings. We don't want to be ambushed. When we finally reach the right height we stop and sit on the small platform, the same one Tobias and I sat on last year.

"We've reached the generator" Shauna says through her com.

"Copy that. Stand-by" I tell her.

"How's the loading going?" Tori asks.

"We're almost done" Lynn answers. "Any sign of the two teams?"

"There's movement to the north and the east" Tori says pointing toward it. I look in that direction and realize that the two teams are fairly close to each other.

"Get ready, girls. It'll soon start" I say.

"Copy that" Lauren says.

"Copy that" Marlene says.

"You are really into this military thing" Tori says to me.

"Yeah, I guess I am. But this is so much fun. This will not only teach the initiates a lesson but also the Dauntless. You always need to be prepared for everything."

"We are so going to kick ass tonight" Christina says laughing.

"Calm down, Chris. Someone might hear us" Lynn scolds her.

"Sorry" she says a little bashful.

"There" Tori says and points toward the north. One of the teams made their move and now they are shooting at each other.

"Okay, guys. This is it. No one will know it's us. The guys might even going to try to hit us. If they do and you feel you won't be able to take them down surrender and call out your name. But before that, if you are in danger, there are flares in the small chest. There's one for each of us. Bring them to the rendezvous point. If any of us is in danger ignite it. It will not only signal the rest of us of it, but it will blind your attacker hopefully long enough for you to run away. We don't want anyone to get hurt" I say.

"Alright. We're ready whenever you are" Shauna says.

"Okay. It seems they are fairly close to capturing one of the flags" I say.

"Where are they?" Lynn asks.

"Near the place Four and Tris got married" Tori says.

"Alright girls. Get ready. Lauren, cut off the power. Let's surprise them" I say a little giddy.

We wait for the power to go out, which doesn't take long. One by one all the lights in the area go out and Tori and I watch the surrounding area. We decided that I help Shauna and Lauren make their way to the rendezvous point and Tori guides the rest of the girls. Within five minutes both of our teams reach the point and Tori and myself make our way down to them.

"Here" Christina hands me a handgun and a rifle, while Lynn hands a handgun and rifle to Tori. All the other girls already have theirs. Tori and I thank them and grab a flare also which we hide in the left pocket of our vests.

"What now?" Marlene asks.

"We make our way as quickly as possible to where the two teams are and one by one we take them out" Tori says.

"We need to move quickly and silently at the same time. The moment of surprise won't last long. We need to take out as many as possible within the first few shots" Lauren says.

"How are we going to do that?" Tori asks.

"We surround them. Unlike them we have nightvision" I say. "But I'm sure they will look for a way to bring back the lights. No one knows where the generator is and even if it will take that person some time to figure out how to power it up again" Lauren says.

"What if they make a fire?" Marlene suggests.

"Oh, come on" Christina says dismissingly.

"I thought of that too" I say and they both look at me. "It is possible, Christina. Come on. Let's go and take some Dauntless ass down. One more thing. Four is mine" I say.

"We know" Christina, Marlene and Shauna say and start laughing.

"Shh" Lauren scolds.

"I didn't mean it like that" I say and shake my head.

We make our way to where the two teams are. Even though no one can see us we make sure to remain in the shadows and approach carefully and as silent as possible. When I decide there's no way for me to advance without being detected I stop and communicate my location to the girls. One by one each of them does the same until we have surrounded the others. We silently remain hidden listening to the disoriented Dauntless.

"What the fuck is going on?" Uriah asks.

"What happened to the lights?" Zeke asks.

"Must be a blackout" Will suggest.

"No shit" Zeke says sarcastically.

"Guys, calm down. Everyone stay calm. This changes nothing. The moment the lights are back up the game continues. Don't wander off, you might get hurt" Tobias says in his Four voice, but knowing him so well I can tell he feels uneasy.

"When do we attack?" Lynn asks.

"Just a moment" I say and look around. I'm near a tree. "Is there any way you can get higher. I have a tree next to me. From up there I can shoot at more people" I say.

"There's a small shed I can climb" Marlene says.

"There's one next to me as well" Lauren says.

"And I have a tree too" Shauna says.

The four of us climb up while the rest of the girls maintain their positions on the ground. I get into position and wait for the other girls to tell me they are ready.

"Alright. On my signal start shooting them down. I guess it's needless to say that each girl takes down her own man" I say and they chuckle. "Ready?"

"Yes" they all whisper in unison.

"Go" I say and I start shooting. One by one the Dauntless gathered in a large group fall to the ground alerting the others. Some of them start shooting back, but given the fact that they can't see makes it all the more futile and a little fun to watch.

"Stop shooting" Tobias yells, although I don't know if he meant us or the Dauntless who try to fight back our attack. We continue shooting them down until only a few are left. I send Lauren back to turn on the lights. We had our fun anyways. The girls and I wait for the lights to go on before we finally step out of the shadows. There are at least two dozen Dauntless on the ground still holding their legs or arm or chests where the bullets hit them. Still standing are Tobias, Dwayne, Zeke, Uriah, Will and a few others.

"Hey, Shauna" I whisper.

"Yeah?" she whispers back.

"Use that deep voice you used during that joke the other day and tell them to get on their need. They are surrounded. Do the speech from two nights ago too" I tell her.

"Oh" is all she says and gives a slight nod.

"On your knees" she shouts in a deep voice. I have no idea how she does that, but she sounds like a really big, scary dude.

"What if we don't?" Tobias ask defiantly. I would have thought Zeke or Uriah to be like this. Guess my hubby likes the danger. We all raise our guns a little higher and point them toward them.

"Very Dauntless of you, Four" she says still using that voice. A moment later Lauren returns and joins us.

"How do you know who I am?" he asks.

"Everyone knows you, Dauntless legend" she says.

"What do you want from us?" he asks still standing tall.

"For starters, I want you to get on your knees" she says. When they still don't move Lauren, Lynn and I walk closer guns held high pointed toward them. I feel a little guilty for pointing a gun at my husband, but we want to teach our men a lesson.

"Get down" Lynn growls in a deep voice. She pushes Uriah and he falls backwards on his behind. Zeke tries to launch himself at her but he is shot down. I look back and see Shauna lowering her gun. She shot him.

"On your knees" Shauna yells.

"Do as they say" Tobias says a little defeated.

"Four, we can take them. Between you and me…" Dwayne starts saying but Tobias turns to glare at him.

"Get down all of you. They have guns and have the advantage" he says. He is planning something, I know it. The Four I know would not just surrender. He is planning something.

"Watch out. He is tricky" I whisper. Just then one of the Dauntless still standing launches himself at me. I wasn't expecting it and he knocks me down. "Don't" I tell the others, somehow managing to not shout. "Let me fight him" I say. The unknown Dauntless male starts his attack, but I expertly avoid each and every one of his blows. When he holds out to punch me in the face I duck, grab his outstretched arm, turn so that my back is pressed to his front and flip him over my shoulder to the ground. I punch him in the face, knocking him out.

"Jimmy!" another one shouts and launches toward me, but Lynn gets in the middle and fights him down. Then, one by one the remaining unwounded Dauntless start attacking us. Uriah gets up first and launches at Lynn. Dwayne attacks Shauna, Tobias attacks Lauren, Will attacks me and the few others attack the rest of us. I'm too involved in my fight against Will to see how my girlfriends are doing, but by the looks of it they are doing fine. I manage to throw Will down and kick him in the stomach, enough to keep him there, but not so hard as to seriously hurt him. I take a step back and bump into someone. I turn around the same time as the other person only to look at Tobias. He has no clue it's me so he starts attacking. I manage to avoid his attacks but he is definitely stronger than me. Even with all that extra training I wouldn't be able to win in a fight against him and if I continue fighting he will be so pissed. I get down and kick his feet from under him. He falls backwards but I know he will be up before I can even launch myself at him. I seize my opportunity turn around and run toward one of the sheds. I use a wooden box to push myself upwards and manage by a miracle to escape his grasp. I turn around and hold my hands up.

"I surrender" I yell. My voice, I now realize, is muffled due to the fact that I'm still wearing the helmet which covers my face. Tobias takes a step back.

"Come down" he orders. "I won't hurt you, but you will have to answer for this" he says in a very intimidating voice.

"Get back some more" I say. He does so and I take two steps back and launch myself of the sheds roof, swirl in the air and land in front of him on my feet without even losing my balance.

"Who are you?" Tobias asks unimpressed.

"You know me" I say.

"I think I would have remembered you" he replies.

"Well, then. My fellow insurgents, helmets off" I order and every one of the girls go to take off the helmet she is wearing.

"Tris?" Tobias asks dumbfounded the moment my helmet is off.


	79. Chapter 79

Tobias is still looking at me shocked. His mouth is slightly hanging open as if he can't believe what he is seeing.

"You were right, honey. I wouldn't be able to fight you. But I did kick some serious ass tonight" I say smiling. He is still looking at me, but then turns around to look at the rest of the masked insurgents.

"That was you guys? All along?" he asks surprised.

"Yeah" I simply say.

"Why?" he asks turning around.

"Two reasons. Reason number one, Dauntless need to be prepared for everything and Lauren and I decided to spice things up this year, make it a little more interesting. And as you can see it was very interesting and a little disappointing. You guys really need to be more watchful" I say looking at them.

"What's reason number two?" Tobias asks, his expression hard and unreadable. I swallow hard. I'm in trouble.

"Reason number two was to show our guys that we are some bad-ass Dauntless girls, even though they don't think so" I say and take a tentative step forward. Tobias still looks at me sternly, just like when he was still my instructor. But then he wraps his arms around me and pulls me close to him, kissing me hard on the lips. When we part we both pant heavily.

"That was awesome. All of you were. We never saw it coming. And yeah, I am a little pissed" he says looking directly at me. "I could have hurt you" he says and his eyes reflect both anger and hurt.

"I know. But as you could see I made sure not to let it get that far" I say.

"Still, Tris. You have to promise me not to pull anything like this again" he says softly. "Especially when you could have said something" he adds in his mind while looking down into my eyes.

"I know, baby. But I wanted to show you that I'm ready for anything. Besides we all agreed on taking safety precautions" I tell him.

"Such as?"

"If any of us would have been in danger we would have surrendered immediately revealing ourselves to you guys" I tell him.

"Still. This could have gotten really wrong really fast" he says.

"I know."

"How did you guys even see in this darkness?" Will asks standing up, while Christina helps him.

"Thanks to these" Lauren says and holds her helmet up.

"Helmets? I don't get it" Uriah says.

"That's because you're dumb" Lynn says and some start laughing.

"You are dumb" Uriah counters.

"Really?" she asks raising an eyebrow and shoots him in the knee.

"Agh" Uriah shouts.

"Stop it! Both of you" Tobias yells at them.

"Can someone explain the thing with these helmets?" Zeke asks inspecting Shauna's.

"Here" I say and give Tobias mine, while the girls hand theirs to their respective partners or whoever wanted to try it out. The guys put them on and I instruct them to follow me into the shadows.

"I can't see anything" Dwayne almost whines.

"Don't worry, honey. I'll hold your hand" Tori says and we all laugh.

"Thanks, babe. That's reassuring" he says sarcastically.

"What now? I can't see a thing" Will says.

"On the right side of your helmet is a button" I say and they all raise their hands to find it. "Push it lightly."

"Wow, I'll be damned. I can see" Zeke says excited.

"This is so great!" Dwayne chimes in.

"So this is how you saw us and took us down one by one" Tobias says admiringly.

"Yep" Tori confirms.

"How is this even possible?" Will asks.

"Long story short, this tech is called night vision, which as the name suggests makes you see during night time. I read about it in an old book and asked some Erudite friends to recreate it, which they did. I thought to try them out tonight and here we are" I explain.

"You guys were really bad-ass" Zeke says admiringly, while holding his girlfriend close.

"Yeah?" Shauna asks.

"Sure, babe."

"Well, in that case maybe now you will definitely remember to take out the trash and do some other work at home or else I'll kick you stupid, Pedrad" she says.

"Oh, come on. I always take the trash out" he says but Shauna glares at him. "Eventually" he adds and we laugh.

"How did you guys even get here? And where did you keep the gear hidden?" Uriah asks.

"Tris gave us the keys to the car and after lunch we went to Erudite to get it, afterwards we drove here and waited for you to arrive" Marlene tells them.

"But who won now?" Dwayne asks.

"We did" Shauna, Marlene, Christina and Tori say at the same time and the rest of us laugh.

"No, you didn't capture the flag" Uriah protests as we return toward where the crowd is.

"Actually, we captured both flags" Lauren says and we all turn to look at her.

"What do you mean?" Tobias asks.

"Well, while I went to turn back on the lights I passed one teams hiding place for the flag and I snatched it" she says pulling out a neon green flag from the inside of her vest "and on my way back I snatched the other one" she says revealing the golden colored flag of the second team.

"Oh, man. Not fair" Uriah pouts.

"That should all teach a lesson. Even when you think you might win something can happen and you lose. You always need to be prepared for everything" I say.

"As for the initiates, even though this night ended a little differently than expected you will all be scored for tonight. We don't just score you on your success but also your ideas and involvement. Tomorrow we'll announce the new ranking. Since it's late and tomorrow is Saturday we'll see each other after lunch in the training room. Now let's head back to the tracks and return home" Tobias says and we all walk toward the tracks. He puts his arm around my shoulder and holds me close, which I find more than reassuring. Maybe he is not as mad as I thought.

We patiently wait for the train to arrive chatting with our friends. The guys took our little surprise attack pretty good, all of them praising us. Even Tobias has only kind words for us, but I know that I am still in trouble with my husband. I should have stopped all this when we bumped into each other. Oh, well.

The train comes around the corner and we start running along the tracks. One by one we all jump on and try to catch our breaths once all of us are in and the doors are closed. Even though it's summer the night air is still cool. Tobias leans on one of the walls and pulls me close to him. I rest my head on his chest and let him envelope me in his strong arms.

"I'm sorry" I say in my mind.

"For?" he asks.

"I should have revealed that it's me when we bumped into each other. It should have stopped then and there, but I was so full of adrenaline that I pushed it even further" I say bashful, my eyes still fixated on the ground.

"It's okay, baby. I'm actually really proud of you. Not only did you think of this great way to make Capture the flag more interesting, but you really kicked ass tonight, not that I didn't know this already. But you stood up to me and to be honest even though I figured you were a girl, I was most impressed. But this won't change the fact that I will always do everything I can to protect you" he tells me and I look up at him. "I love you" he says out loud, but only for me to hear.

"I love you too" I say. We smile at each other and share a sweet kiss, that quickly becomes too passionate for this particular environment. We part and he rests his forehead on mine.

"This train can't get us home quickly enough" he says.

"We should have taken the car" I say. His eyes widen and then he furrows his eyebrows.

"Are you meaning to tell me that we could have taken the car from the Pier?"

"Yeah. Shauna and Marlene got there with it. I think they, Zeke and Uriah took it back to Dauntless" I say remembering that the girls went toward the parking lot.

"Damn. We could have taken the car" Tobias says frustrated.

"Oh, come on. We're almost there. And I get so rarely to take the train these days. Let me enjoy it" I say and kiss his jaw.

"Oh, alright" he says defeated, although I know he likes the train too.

"Come on, we're almost home" I say.

"You're right. I can't wait to rip this tactical gear of you" he whispers, making me blush a deep shade of red.

"I'll have to shower first" I say.

"Even better" he says.

"You're terrible" I say slapping his arm lightly.

"You know you like it too" he whispers in my ear, making me shudder. Great. Now I can't wait to get home and rip his clothes off.

"Almost home" Christina says startling us both. "Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you" she says apologetically.

"It's fine. You haven't scared us. We were just talking" Tobias says. The train slows down and the doors open. One by one each Dauntless and initiate jumps out until it's only Christina, Will, Tobias and me in there. We quickly jump out as well before the train picks up speed again, leaving the Dauntless compound behind.

We say goodbye to our friends and head back home. Our walk up to the Pire and then to our apartment is silent, but the sexual tension between us is almost palpable. The moment Tobias closes and locks our front door behind him he pulls me toward him crashing his mouth over mine, searching my mouth with his talented tongue. I moan into our kiss and feel his erection even through all the layers we are both wearing tonight. He wants this just as much as I do.

"Tobias, wait" I say trying to escape his mouth and arms, but it's futile, mainly because he is much stronger than I am, but also because I really don't want to leave his arms. But this whole mission tonight made me all sweaty and I can't wait to get out of this clothes.

"You don't want me?" he asks almost pouting, but resumes his onslaught on my mouth and neck nevertheless.

"Of course, I do, honey. But I need to take a shower" I manage to say. He stops abruptly and I force my eyes open to see why he stopped. He looks into my eyes with a gleam I haven't seen in a while. Before I know it he throws me over his shoulder and runs with me up the stairs. He runs into our bedroom and doesn't stop until we are in our bathroom. He sets me down and turns on the lights.

His lips find mine again in an instant and we kiss passionately and with abandon. He moves his hands all over my body and starts taking my clothes off. I don't waste any time either doing the same with his. Soon we are both standing completely naked in our bathroom, our bodies pressed together, arms wrapped around the others body, tongues tangling in a dance of passion. Tobias picks me up and carries me to the shower. He reaches inside and turns on the water checking it every once in a while to see if the temperature is right. Once he decides it is he steps inside holding me close to him, my legs wrapped securely around his waist. We are kissing passionately, moaning and grinding against each other, the friction between us becoming almost unbearable. He turns around and presses me against the cool tile of the shower making me shiver. His mouth travels from my lips to my left earlobe sucking and biting it, eliciting more moans and causing more body heat to spread through my limbs. He travels down my neck to my collarbone, peppering kisses on my sweat covered skin. He lifts me even further so that his mouth can reach my breasts and he can greedily suck on my hardened nipples. When he lightly bites down on of them I almost come undone and I can feel my juices spilling out.

"Tobias, fuck me already" I pant, unable to keep it together any longer. This torture he puts me through is just too much. I feel him smile against my skin and then he pushes me even harder against the wall. He reaches his right hand between us grabbing his throbbing manhood and rubbing it against my slick entrance. Before I can say anything he buries himself deep inside me causing me to cry out in pleasure.

"Did you just come?" Tobias asks, half amused, half aroused.

"A little bit" I say shyly and we both start laughing.

"Well, then let me make you come a little more" he says with a sexy grin on his face.

He pulls out almost completely only to bury himself over and over again deep inside me. He keeps up this slow, yet steady pace of deep thrusts into my core until the sensations become too much for him too and he increases his speed slightly. I feel my own release approach rapidly and I kiss every inch of his skin I can reach in this position, biting down softly on his shoulder, burying my fingernails in his back, all the while his thrusts become quicker and shallower and I'm almost there. A few more of these thrusts and I am pushed over the edge, my walls clenching around his still pistoning member, squeezing his seed out and making him come hard and loud, spilling himself deep inside me.

Tobias takes a step back and leans against the glass door of the shower cabin, sliding down slowly, still buried inside me and my legs securely wrapped around his waist. He finally sits down on the wet shower floor and I straddle him, kissing his cheeks and lips softly, trying to catch my breath.

We stay like this for a while just holding each other close, enjoying the aftermath of our exquisite lovemaking. When I feel him soften within me I get up and kiss the tip of his nose in the process. He gets up as well and we start cleaning up. As so many times before we wash each other, but remain mostly quiet.

"You sure you are okay?" I ask while towel drying my hair.

"Of course I am" he says putting on his boxers. "Why wouldn't I be?" he asks looking at me with a grin.

"Because of what happened tonight" I say. I know I probably should drop it, but I'd rather have a fight now than having him overreact about it later.

"I told you what I think already" he says a little irritated. I knew it. He only kept it civil with the others.

"I know, Tobias. But I want us to be okay" I say.

"We are okay" he says and comes to me. "Am I proud of how much you have improved? Yes. Am I admiring your strategic thinking and leadership qualities? Of course. Am I terrified that I might have hurt you? Absolutely. But I figured you were a girl and I held back. At least for a while. But you are really good and for a moment there you made me forget all that and I was really trying to take you down. You are very good, Tris, but don't ever put me in a situation like that again" he says serious, while wrapping his arms around me. "I love you more than anything and the thought of you being hurt is unbearable. The thought that I might cause you pain of any kind is devastating. One of my greatest fears is that I end up being just like Marcus" he says and looks deep into my eyes.

"Tobias, you are nothing like him and you will never be like him. I saw the real Marcus not only in your fear landscape, but also experienced him while working with the council. I can assure you that you are nothing like him. If anything, you are the complete opposite. Even when you get angry and you do get angry sometimes you never once made me feel unsafe or in danger. Tobias, I wouldn't have married you otherwise. Trust me and trust yourself. We wouldn't be here if you were even remotely like Marcus. And the fact that I want a baby with you should be proof enough that I don't believe you will ever be like your father" I say rubbing his arms, hopefully soothingly.

"It just scares me" he says almost broken.

"I know. And I would consider you a fool if it wouldn't. But look at me. My parents never once raised their voice let alone their hand to hit me or Caleb and yet I can be vicious in a fight. You don't wanna mess with me" I say half jokingly.

"No, I don't" he says, finally smiling.

"I promise I won't do it again. Next time I'll let you know" I say.

"I was hoping no next time" he says.

"Yeah… No" I say. "Not gonna happen."

"Thought to give it a try" he says smiling.

"We good?" I ask tentatively.

"Yeah. Come on. I'm exhausted" he says and pulls me into bed.

"Wait. I have to put some PJ's on" I protest, but I'm laughing.

"You don't have to. Actually, I don't need this either" he says and pulls down his boxers. "Come on, let me cuddle you" he says.

"I wonder what all the Dauntless would say if I would tell them what a snuggle bear you are?" I ask while getting under the covers.

"You wouldn't" he says. "If you do that I will stop snuggling you" he threatens.

"Are you threatening me?" I ask incredulous turning my head so that I can see him better, since we are in a spooning position.

"I'm promising" he says serious.

"Bull shit, Four" I say using deliberately his nickname. "If you didn't stop snuggling me when I was sick and disgusting you won't stop ever. You love me too much" I tease.

"That I do, my beautiful Six" he says using his special nickname for me.

"Don't worry. Even if I'd tell the whole faction you like to snuggle they wouldn't believe me" I say and we laugh.

"They better."

We snuggle for a while and then fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> 1\. What did you think of the guys reaction? Some of you especially a guest reviewer wanted Tobias to get mad and fight with Tris, but I reconsidered. Dauntless treats males and females basically the same. Tris and the girls proved that those are not just random words, but the actual truth. But I'd still love to hear your opinions.
> 
> 2\. I want to add a fifth leader. Have any suggestions?


	80. Chapter 80

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello my faithful readers! Here is a new chapter for you. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> I've posted an AU story this week called The Rehabilitation of Tris Prior, which I will update daily. It won't be as long as this one. Check it out and tell me what you think.
> 
> Hugs and kisses from Cloakseeker.

80

The weekend came and went by quicker than we thought. On Saturday we met the initiates in the training room and announced the rankings. Some of those who were ranked lower got better and some who believed they were so good turned out to be wrong. We congratulated them on their teamwork and encouraged them to help each other out during training. As a treat we gave them Sunday off.

On Monday Tobias and I went to Candor for Jeremy's sentencing. Jack called us Saturday afternoon to tell us when to be there. We are currently on our way there. Tobias was okay with us taking the train since I complained that we didn't do that as often as I'd like.

"What do you think they will decide?" Tobias asks me.

"I don't know. It's a delicate matter and frankly I wouldn't want to be part of deciding his fate."

We don't say much after that, both anxious to get this finally behind us. Soon the train approaches Candor HQ and the train slows down enough for us to jump off. We walk hand in hand inside where we find most of the council already gathered. My father is currently talking to Jonah and Jack and Marcus stands nearby. We try to avoid him but he comes straight toward us.

"What do you want?" Tobias asks in his intimidating Four voice. A few people turn their head to look at us. My father and Jack sense the danger and quickly come to greet us.

"Good morning, Tris" Jack says friendly and we shake hands. "Morning, Four" he says and extends his hand to Tobias. Tobias shakes it and looks away from his father.

"Morning, dad" I say and hug him.

"Morning, Andrew" Tobias says and hugs him as well.

"No good morning for me?" Marcus asks, almost mockingly.

"You are lucky I don't punch you. Stay away from us" Tobias says glaring at his father.

"That's no way to talk to your father" Marcus says in what wants to be an intimidating voice.

"You stopped being my father a long time ago" Tobias says.

"Gentlemen, please" Jack says. "We should get inside the court room. The judge will be in soon."

"Any chance you could tell me what was decided?" I ask my dad.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I can't. Not only because I shouldn't but the council merely suggested punishment. It is up to the court to decide on a proper punishment according to the law."

I nod and grab Tobias' hand in mine pulling him inside the court room. Dad, Jonah and Jack follow us and Marcus right behind them. We sit down, Tobias on the far end of the row so that no one sits on his left, I sit on his right, my dad next to me, then Jonah and Marcus next to him. Jack walks to the front, being leader of Candor he has a special place in this court room. We patiently wait for the judge to enter. I take advantage of the fact that my dad is currently engaged in a conversation with Jonah and turn my attention to Tobias. He looks straight ahead, but his gaze is distant. He is probably trying to calm himself after seeing his father. I rub my thumb over the back of his hand while squeezing it lightly. He turns to look at me and I give him a little smile. He smiles back, but the tension doesn't leave his body.

"I love you" is all I say and his face lights up. He bends down and kisses me softly. It's chaste and quick, but full of love.

"I love you too" he says after we part. We remain quiet after that until the judge and a few other people enter the room, followed closely by Jeremy in handcuffs with two guards, one on each side, and his lawyer right next to him. Everyone sits down and awaits the judge's ruling.

"The defendant shall rise" the clerk says and both Jeremy and his lawyer stand up.

"Mr. Carmichael" the judge says directly to Jeremy "before you hear our ruling I want to say something to you. During this trial I've heard some of the most despicable things in my career as a judge. I've seen many criminals, but none like you. I was one of presiding judges in the case of the Erudite-Dauntless plot to overthrow our government. They did terrible things and by no means do I justify any of them, but at least they acted out of their own faith or poor judgment. But you, you not only are delusional in thinking that these poor girls wanted to be raped, you even have this sick value system you follow. You are not better than a woman, you are not better than anyone in fact. When you forced yourself on any of those girls you committed a crime, not just in the eyes of the law, but in the eyes of our society. I asked a psychologist to talk to you and determine your state of mind. I also insisted to talk to your parents and those close to you. While no one pictured you as an innocent lamb none of those interviewed could believe the truth. Even yesterday, after your lawyer explained to you the severity of your crime and the punishment you face you still insisted that all the girls you abused wanted it. You have shown no remorse whatsoever and it is my understanding that there is no reason to not judge you as an adult. Therefore, this court sentences you to six months of isolated imprisonment, followed by two years of forced labor in the community's interest and after that we will meet again, Mr. Carmichael and we will discuss further if any punishment. During your community service time you will be escorted by two Dauntless guards at all times. Any trespasses and your sentence will be doubled. You can appeal within thirty days. Until then this court is adjourned."

We all watch the entire time dumbfounded at the judge. I don't understand what just happened. This punishment seems hardly appropriate for what he did.

Jeremy is being escorted out of the room, followed by his lawyer. The judge gets up and we all follow his example. I'm still staring at the judge and for some reason he looks back at me.

"I know what you are thinking" he says, seemingly to no one in particular, but he is looking at me. I'm sure of it. "Please, follow me to my office" he says and I'm sure he is talking to me. I try to walk past Tobias to exit the row, but he stops me.

"Where are you going?" he asks confused.

"With the judge. You heard him" I simply answer.

"I think he might have talked to the council" I hear Marcus behind me.

"Just for your information, I am a member of the council, even if for now my fellow leader is taking my place" I say glaring at Marcus.

"Just to clarify" the judge says and we look at him "I meant Tris. Could you please follow me?"

"Is it okay if my husband accompanies me?" I ask looking at the judge.

"Of course" he says and starts walking out.

"Talk to you later, dad" I say to my father and go to follow the judge. Tobias is close behind me, we both avoiding Marcus' glare on our way out. Tobias grabs my hand in his and squeezes it lightly. I give him a smile and return my gaze to the man walking in front of us. We soon reach his office and he invites us in. We both decline the coffee he is offering us and proceed to sit down in front of his desk.

"You are probably wondering why this sentence, why not an execution?" the judge asks and I nod.

"It has crossed my mind" I say, trying not to be sarcastic.

"I thought so when I saw your expression afterwards" he says with a chuckle.

"With all due respect" Tobias says firmly "but I don't understand why he got off so easy."

"Because of you" he says pointing at me.

"Me?" I ask incredulous. "Why?"

"It's because of what you do for this city and everyone here" he says vaguely.

"I don't want to be rude, but could you be more specific" Tobias says a little annoyed.

"Yes, I'm sorry" the judges says leaning back in his desk chair. "After the interrogation of Mr. Carmichael you and your fellow Dauntless leaders initiated a campaign of sexual abuse awareness among your faction. You see, I was Dauntless born and transferred to Candor, but my twin sister stayed there. Because of the reinforcement of certain laws we couldn't keep in touch as much as we wanted and I lost contact with her. We bumped into each other every once in a while and I always saw her being sad. I thought it might be because I chose a different faction, but I was wrong. My sister is a victim of sexual assault but never spoke up until now. For the past 25 years she kept it to herself, suffered in silence and tried to go on with her life. But she never really could. But then you came along and started changing Dauntless for the better. And now this campaign will help so many victims. I've heard some of our leaders talk about doing something similar here and I think other factions will do the same."

"I'm glad you approve, but what does this have to do with this case?" I ask still confused.

"My first instinct was capital punishment, but I reconsidered it, because of you and your campaign. But that's not the only reason. I've heard each of the testimonies of the victims and I thought that by executing him he won't really get punished. Yes, he will be gone, but will he ever understand what he did wrong? Will he ever understand the ordeal he put those girls through? I think not. It's easy to destroy, but it's a lot harder to mend and heal. And this is exactly what our society needs. I always thought that by killing people we would never truly reach order. Some crimes are unforgiveable, like rape, but maybe by putting this little low-life through some ordeal we can show that every crime is punishable no matter what and sometimes death isn't really as bad as living with the guilt and being stigmatized by society. Maybe this way we help victims and discourage more abuse of any kind" the judge explains.

I lean back in my chair and think of what he said. On one hand I would love to see Jeremy gone, but I do understand the reasoning behind the judge's decision. It might help with the campaign too. People should be made aware of the consequences and come to think of it, if we would have just executed Jeremy he wouldn't have suffered nearly enough. And my god I want him to suffer. Does this make me a bad person?

"It's going to be tough to explain this to a crowd of Dauntless" Tobias says, almost to himself.

"Don't worry, I will. I understand what you mean" I say talking to the judge now "and I think you are right. If we just kill him he will never really have suffered. At least this way he gets a taste of what it's like to be deprived of your freedom" I say and he nods.

We shake hands with the judge and leave his office. Tobias asks me if I would like to look for Jack or my dad, but I just want to get home. We leave Candor behind us and walk to the train tracks. We don't say anything for a while just enjoying the train ride home.

"Should we make the announcement now?" Tobias asks.

"Yeah. I mean, everyone knows that he was sentenced today and I think they all want to know about his punishment. Let's just gather everyone in the Pit and get this over with" I say.

"I wish it was Sunday again" Tobias says with a sigh, leaning against the train wall.

"Why?" I ask with a chuckle.

"It seems that's the only day I have you all to myself" he says and pulls me closer to him.

"Come on, you're exaggerating" I say.

"Am I?" he asks raising an eyebrow. "Between leadership and initiation, the occasional council meeting and all that other stuff I barely get to spend time with my wife. That's so not fair" he says pouting. I laugh a little at his adorableness and kiss his lips softly.

"I know what you mean. I hardly got to enjoy my newlywed status. Can you believe that we're married three weeks now?"

"Best three weeks of my life" he says before pecking my lips.

"How about this? Stage one will be over later this week. Since we've already agreed to a get together with our friends this weekend, how about we reserve the next weekend just to the two of us? We don't have to leave Dauntless. We just turn off our phones, leave everything to Tori and Connor and enjoy a little husband and wife time" I suggest. At the mention of some alone time his eyes light up.

"You're not messing with me, wife" he asks teasingly.

"Of course not, husband" I reply.

"Well then, that sounds like a plan. And maybe, who knows, we make a little baby Eaton" he says wiggling his eyebrows.

"I'd like that" I say leaning into him and relishing in the feeling of holding him close to me.

"Me too, baby."

We quickly approach Dauntless and we get ready to jump off the train. Once we are back at his office he makes the announcement for every Dauntless within the compound to gather in the Pit in half an hour. Tobias sits behind his desk and beckons me with his finger to come sit in his lap. I smile and do so.

We kiss leisurely trying to keep it in our pants, since we soon we'll have to go down and tell the faction what the court decided in Jeremy's case. A knock on the door startles us and we break apart, panting heavily.

"Could you please get that?" he asks pointing at the tent in his pants.

"Sure" I smile. I get up and straighten my hair and clothes and walk to the door. I open it to find Zeke standing there.

"Oh, hey Tris" he says, somewhat surprised to see me.

"Hey, Zeke, come in" I say, trying to act casual.

"Didn't expect you here" he says walking toward Tobias' desk.

"Yeah, we just got back from Candor and talked about the announcement" I lie. Well, we did talk. Briefly.

"I'm sure" he says grinning, looking between Tobias and me.

"There anything I could do for you?" Tobias asks his best friend a little annoyed.

"Yeah. My mom invited us all to her place tonight for supper. She makes her famous lasagna that you love an she told me to invite you and your wifey to join us. After all you two Stiffs are family" he says teasingly.

"Call me Stiff one more time and I'll beat you up, Pedrad" Tobias says. The first time this happened I really thought they would fight, but I soon realized Zeke was only teasing him, but it was all innocent. They both burst into laughter, but I try to keep a straight face.

"Call me Stiff one more time and I tell Shauna you took Hunter on a train ride when you were supposed to get him to sleep" I threaten. Zeke looks shocked that I know and looks at Tobias. Huh, Tobias knew this.

"You told her, man? I thought we were friends" Zeke whines.

"I didn't tell her anything. I swear" Tobias says and stands up.

"He didn't tell me" I say and they both look at me. "I was finishing training and the girls wanted to go for drinks, but I had to take a phone call. I went out and saw you. I didn't say anything to Shauna, because I wanted her to relax. She was very stressed out and I knew you would take care of Hunter, he is your son after all. But if you piss me off with this Stiff thing one more time I will tell her. Got that, Pedrad?" I ask, trying to be intimidating. He nods furiously and looks at Tobias who just shrugs. "Let's go." I turn around and walk out of the room heading toward the stairs that lead to the Pit. I can already hear the loud crowd gathered there to find out what news we have.

"Dude, your wife is scarier than you" I hear Zeke whisper to Tobias, who chuckles.

"You can bet your sorry ass that I am" I say loud.

"Damn. And she hears like a bat too" Zeke says.

"Maybe you should stop complimenting my wife while she is still in earshot. Unless you want her to kick your ass" Tobias says to him.

"Man, you guys sure are made for each other. Like one Four wasn't enough around here. Now there are two."

"There's only one Four. And one Six" Tobias clarifies.

"And Six is going to make Four spend the night on the couch if he doesn't wrap this up" I say, trying to sound annoyed.

"Uh, oh. Trouble in paradise" Zeke says teasingly.

"Hey Shauna" I yell when I see her and wave at her.

"No, don't. I'm sorry. I'll stop" Zeke begs and grabs my right shoulder. I look over it at him and give him an evil grin.

"Maybe I should tell her" I say.

"Please, don't" he begs.

"What do you think, Four?"

"I think we should keep it to ourselves. We might need to put him in his place later" Tobias says chuckling.

"Not cool, man" Zeke whines.

"Oh, alright, you big cry baby. I'll keep it to myself. For now. But remember to be nice" I say pointing my finger at him like I would scold a little child.

"I promise" he swears.

"Good. Come on, guys. Let's get this over with" I say and walk toward the rock where we usually make announcements. I climb up and wait for Tobias to join me before Zeke hands me the microphone.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Tobias asks me.

"I have to" I say. I smile at him and then turn my gaze toward the gathered crowd. "My fellow Dauntless" I say loud but no one listens. "My fellow Dauntless" I say again a little louder. Damn it. "Shut up!" I yell and they all turn to look at me. "Oh, thank you for letting me speak" I say sarcastically. "My fellow Dauntless, I will keep this short. Four and I just got back from Candor. The judge ruled in the case of Jeremy Carmichael. Jeremy was sentenced to six months of isolated imprisonment, followed by two years of forced labor in the community's interest and after that the court will discuss further if any more punishment." I let the information sink in. About a minute after I stop talking everyone starts protesting and talking loudly.

"This isn't fair" one Dauntless in the back yells.

"He deserves to die, that scum" another joins in.

"Kill the rapist" a small group to the left starts chanting.

"Silence!" I yell into the microphone that even Tobias holds his ears. "This was the ruling of the court, according to the law. We as Dauntless should understand what that means. We are in charge of keeping order. The judge called Four and me into his chamber to explain his decision and upon hearing his reasons I agree with him" I say.

"What? How could you?" a woman yells.

"Let me talk then I can explain" I say a little pissed. "The judge explained something to me. The reason of his ruling is to help a city wide campaign to raise sexual abuse awareness. People throughout the city heard about the one initiated here in Dauntless and follow our example. That low-life abused innocent people who will forever be marked by that awful experience. It is our job to help them get better. But imagine we would just execute him he would be dead and that would be the end of it. Do you think that's fair. He will be injected with a serum that will stop his heart, while his victims will live on with the trauma they went through. In my opinion, that's not fair. Jeremy will stay six months in a isolated cell with minimal contact to other human beings. After that he will be forced for two years to work in the community's service. He will not be part of a faction. Or at least he will never be part of Dauntless. I haven't asked what the judge meant by meeting and discussing further punishment, but I think he wants to see if the punishment Jeremy received taught him anything. Make no mistake, Jeremy is an example. An example for other rapists. We will not let things slide. We will punish those who commit crimes. Abuse of any kind is a crime. It is vital for us as a society to grow and learn from mistakes and I think the judge made the right decision. If you are still unsatisfied with the ruling and the explanation following it, please feel free to write a letter to the judge which I will personally bring to him. But remember this: just because Jeremy's dead, doesn't mean those he abused will find solace. Let him live the pain of being deprived of his own freedom. You might not understand what it means to not be free to go when you want to, but those who were abused they know. And I know too. You might remember those awful days last fall when you were looking for me. Trust me, while I haven't experienced sexual abuse, the fact that I was kept away from my loved ones was crushing. Put yourselves in my shoes and think if you still want the guy who did this to you dead or alive and suffering" I say and get down from the rock.

I pass the crowd and run toward the stairs to the Pire. I climb them two at a time and hurry to my apartment. I open the door and shut it close with a loud bang. I feel tears streaming down my face and I slide down the front door. I pull my knees to my chest and rest my chin on them and cry silently. I feel a light push of the door and I know someone wants to get in. Tobias wants to get in. I crawl away from the door and hear him enter and close the door behind him. I'm still on the floor crying, unable to get up and face my husband. I feel his arms warp around me and he lifts me up in his arms. He carries me to the couch where he sits down and holds me in his lap, allowing me to cry out tears I didn't even know where still there. I thought I got passed it, but it seems like I was wrong.

We stay like this for a long while until Tobias' stomach growls. We skipped lunch and I am just as hungry as he is. I look up at him and try to smile, but I just can't. He wipes away the tears on my face and kisses me softly and full of love.

"I'm sorry" I say in a hoarse voice.

"Don't be, sweetheart" he says caressing my cheek.

"I thought I was over what happened to me, but apparently I was wrong" I say and look away ashamed.

"Honey, you went through something very traumatizing. I'm so glad you chose to work things out and talk to me about it and it only made you stronger. But you are only human. It's natural that every once in a while that nightmare catches up with you. But remember I'll always be here to hold and comfort you" he says and I look into his beautiful dark blue eyes. I kiss him gently before wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Thank you for always being here for me" I say chocked up.

"Of course, baby. I love you" he says stroking my hair.

"I love you too" I say and pull back to look at him.

"Come on, let's eat something. How does a cheese pizza sound?" he asks smiling.

"Great. I'll just go and wash up" I say. He nods and I get up and walk up to our bathroom. I wash my face and look into the mirror. My eyes are red from all the crying. Why did I even think of that? Why did I even think of Romeo? I haven't thought about those dreadful days in months. I can't get the thought out of my head. Without realizing it I think of the picture in the coroner's report. That was the only time I actually saw Romeo's face without a mask. His long dark bushy beard, his pale complexion, the bruises on his face from our fight the night Tobias rescued me and I involuntarily killed my capturer. The long scar above his left eye… Wait. Hang on. I've seen that scar before. This can't be.

I run out of the bathroom and down to the living room. I look for the files I brought home to study but can't find them. Tobias comes from the kitchen into the living room trying to figure out what is going on.

"What are you looking for?" he asks.

"The files. I had a few files here" I say and pick up every piece of paper I can find to check if the files aren't underneath.

"They are here" he says and opens the end table to reveal them. I take them out and look at the first file. It's thief's file. I look at his face. Complexion pale, but no bruises and no bushy beard, but his hair on top of his head is dark. And there it is. The scar, right above his left eye. I run my finger over it, as if I could feel it.

"That's my doing" Tobias says. "He had to take this picture after he was released from the infirmary. The cut was a lot worse, but it healed relatively well" he informs me.

"You did this?" I ask pointing at the scar.

"Yeah, we got into a fight right before he tried to throw me into the chasm. I was hanging out with my friends, having a few beers. That cut is from the bottle I was just enjoying when he came to me and tried to provoke me."

"Uhm" I say and look through the other file, Romeo's file. I look at the picture. It's exactly how I remember it. The beard, the bruises, the scar. I place both pictures next to each other and compare them. It's the same person. The guy who kidnapped me, Romeo, is the same that stole our points and tried to kill Tobias, Steven Mitchells.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thoughts?


	81. Chapter 81

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello everybody! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on who should be the fifth leader. I haven't made up my mind yet. So, if you haven't voted yet, now's the time :) It's between Lauren and Dwayne (Tori's boyfriend).
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> Oh, by the way. This chapter contains a special treat for you. You can thank me later in your reviews.
> 
> Love you all!

81

Tobias has returned to the kitchen by now and continues working on our lunch. I pick up both pictures and walk to the island. I turn them around so that Tobias can look at them, but he is busy with something at the stove.

"Tobias, could you please look at these?" I say and he turns around. "What are you even doing? The pizza is supposed to go in the oven" I say with a chuckle. He steps aside to let me see. "Oh, I should have known, chocolate pudding" I say with a laugh.

"It's good to hear that sound again" he says leaning over the kitchen island and capturing my lips with his. He smiles brightly when we pull apart and I feel butterflies in my stomach. I'm truly blessed to have him. "So, what am I looking at?" he asks looking at the two pictures.

"Look at the pictures" I say. He does so and furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

"I don't get it. There's Steven and the guy who kidnapped you" he says the last part with clenched fists.

"Look at both pictures closely" I say. He picks both pictures up and inspects each of them. Then it seems to dawn on him.

"Can't be" he says looking at me. He returns his gaze to the pictures and then looks back at me. "It's the same person" he says still not believing it.

"I thought so too."

"Maybe it's just a coincidence" he says.

"Maybe. But we have all we need to know in those files" I say pointing at the files on the coffee table in the living room. He sets both pictures down and returns his attention to the pudding. I go back into the living room and pick up both files taking them with me into the dining room. Tobias comes in a moment later with the pizza on a large plate in one hand and a roll of paper towels in the other. He sits down on the chair in front of me and puts the pizza and the paper towels between us on the table. We each grab a file and start reading. I know we should just set them aside and enjoy our meal, but we both know we can't just ignore this. We both read the file in front of us. If there is any chance that I'm wrong and Steven Mitchell isn't Romeo than this is one hell of a coincidence. In any case, I decided to read Romeo's file to not upset Tobias even more with this. He was very helpful through all that, but I don't want to bother him with my kidnap drama any more than necessary. We spend almost an hour eating and reading through the files before we look up and to each other.

"I read that file immediately after the coroner finished with the autopsy" Tobias says about the file on Romeo. "I remember he mentioned that this guy had a broken leg about two years before he died. Am I right?" he asks and I nod. I just read it. I open the file to where this specific information is written down. Tobias opens Mitchells' file and shows me an almost identical note from the doctor who treated Steven Mitchell for that broken bone.

"There are other similarities between both files, but I think it's safe to say that this is one and the same person" I conclude.

"Did you ask mom to look for Steven?" Tobias asks.

"Yeah. I called her the moment I received the file on Mitchell. But I already talked to her. No one knows where he is. After he was made factionless he had a hard time adjusting. He didn't really make friends, instead he made a few enemies. That's why he mostly kept to himself. He wasn't part of the community and no one even noticed he was gone. In fact, most of them even forgot he was there to begin with" I tell him.

"Well, taking all of this into consideration, I think the evidence points toward him for both crimes. He was smart, I knew that even before I read the Erudite report on him. And now that I think of it, it did seem odd that he could afford so many things when we were both working the same job and had the same pay. I just figured at the time that it seemed like he was spending much since I spend almost none of my earnings. I didn't have to. I just bought food to have in the apartment when I wasn't up for the cafeteria or some clothes and toiletries, but other than that… you've seen my old apartment. But even so it felt like he had more points than others, but since we were constantly on edge around each other I thought that if I would complain to my superior he might think that I'm only doing it as payback for some shit Steven pulled on me" he explains.

"Makes sense" I say, thinking of how such a conversation would have looked like. If I were in Tobias' supervisor's shoes and would have two guys constantly fighting I wouldn't just believe them. I would actually dismiss them. "Tobias?"

"Hm?"

"If anyone ever comes to us to complain about someone else, promise me we will investigate even if it sounds stupid to do so" I say.

"What do you mean?"

"I was just thinking how I would have reacted as your boss if you would have come to me after so many fights between you two. I would have probably dismissed it way to easily" I say.

"I get it. I promise. Better safe than sorry" he agrees. "Now back to Steven. While I was reading his file I remembered something. After he tried to kill me and he was banished from Dauntless he promised I would regret it. He said that he would wait until something was important for me enough to die for and then he would strike. Thinking back this is exactly what he did. He waited patiently and then when he found out about you he kidnapped you" Tobias says leaning back in his chair.

"Tobias, it's not your fault. He was a ruthless son of a bitch who was a thief and a liar and low-life. You did nothing wrong."

"I know, but if it wouldn't have been for me he wouldn't have kidnapped you" he says somewhat defeated.

"Tobias Eaton, now listen to me. The only reason I didn't break down while he held me captive was you. The thought of not seeing you again broke my heart. You couldn't have known what a sick bastard this Steven guy was and you couldn't have anticipated two years before you met me that you would fall in love and that this lunatic would try to hurt you through me. There's no reason for you to feel guilty. It's over. I'm home with you, safe and sound, thanks to you by the way, we are happily married and even if I would have to go through all this again, I would, because I love you. Heck, I would walk through hell and back for you" I say and stand up. I walk around the table to where he sits and sit down on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. "You are my rock, Tobias. Let me be yours."

"You are. I don't know what I would do without you" he says looking deep into my eyes.

"You don't have to find out" I say and kiss his lips softly.

"Should we tell someone about this?" he asks after we part.

"I think we should. Jack, because he was in charge of the investigation outside of Dauntless. Dwayne, because he was in charge here, my parents, well 'cause they are my parents and your mom. And our friends of course, but maybe after we inform the right authorities."

"Okay. Should we invite them over and talk to them?" Tobias asks.

"Yeah. How about we do that tomorrow during lunch? We have two hours until the afternoon training starts. I could talk to the cafeteria and have some food delivered to our apartment" I suggest.

"Sounds good. I'll call mom and Dwayne. Could you call your parents and Jack?"

"Sure." We both pick our phones and dial the numbers. I hear Tobias talking to Evelyn while I'm still waiting for my dad to pick up his phone.

"Hello" I hear him answer.

"Hi dad."

"Hello, sweetheart. Are you alright?" he asks, his voice betraying his concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, would it be possible for you and mom to come here tomorrow for lunch. Tobias and I have to tell you something" I say.

"Sure. I'll have to talk to your mother, but I'm sure whatever she had planned could be postponed. Is everything alright?" he asks.

"Yeah. Listen I have to make a few more phone calls. See you tomorrow. Love you dad" I say.

"I love you too." We hang up and I call Jack asking him to meet us here in our apartment for lunch. I think about calling our friends too, but I decide to wait and talk to Tobias first.

"Okay, thank you Dwayne. I'll see you here tomorrow" he says and hangs up. "I talked to mom and Dwayne. How about you?"

"I first talked to dad and then I spoke to Jack. Tobias, I was thinking maybe it would be best if we would tell our friends as well. I mean, I really don't want to tell this story twice. What do you think?"

"Sure. Whatever you decide. Listen, I didn't mention what it was about."

"Me neither. We'll tell them everything tomorrow." We end up calling the rest of our friends and ask them to join us for lunch. We both quickly realize that we'll need and extra table to sit everyone down for lunch. I call Tori and ask her if we could borrow their dining room table and chairs. She immediately agrees and says that Dwayne and her will stop by earlier to move everything into our apartment.

Tobias and I finish up and go downstairs to the training room to check on our initiates. Thankfully none of them give us a hard time this afternoon and we finish up in order and not too much bloodshed. We decide not to eat in the cafeteria, since I'm sure at least some of our friends will pry and ask questions about the meeting tomorrow. We end up eating some chicken noodles and watch a movie on the couch.

The next morning we let the initiates throw knives to see how they have improved over the past couple of weeks. After lunch we'll see how they handle the guns. What they think is just a random check up is actually their exam for this stage of training. But all the instructors decided to keep this to ourselves. This way the initiates won't stress out and we'll see if they take everything seriously no matter the situation.

When it's finally time for lunch Tobias dismisses the initiates and we hurry upstairs to help Tori and Dwayne move their dining room table and chairs into our apartment. Just as we finish the first guests arrive. To my delight Christina, Shauna and Marlene carry food with them, which means the cafeteria gave it to them to bring up.

"Hey guys. Thanks for coming. And thanks for bringing up the food" I say and help them with that.

"No problem" Shauna says. "The guys come with the rest and some beers" Shauna says.

"Beer?" I ask confused.

"Yeah, to celebrate" she vaguely says.

"Celebrate?" I ask even more confused. She just winks at me and goes into the dining room. A moment later a knock on the door announces more guests. I go to open it and find my parents and my mother-in-law standing there, all three of them smiling so bright I swear I can see all their teeth.

"Hey, welcome" I say and let them enter. Both my mother and Evelyn hug me at the same time, knocking the air out of me.

"Hey, mom, Natalie, Andrew" I hear Tobias say from behind me. The two women let go of me and assault my husband, who is just as shocked by their reaction as I am. Dad comes over to me and hugs me and kisses my temple and tells me he loves me very much. This is odd.

Within the next ten minutes everyone we invited arrives and we gather them in the dining room. They all look at us, smiling, although I have no idea what would make them do so.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice. Tris and I have something…" Tobias says but the smiles on their faces is just creeping me out. I interrupt him to ask a very important question.

"Are you guys high on peace serum? Why the hell are you all grinning?" I ask. They look taken aback for a second by my question, so does Tobias, but then they resume their grinning.

"We figured it out" Evelyn says.

"Figured what out?" I ask.

"Why you asked us all here, your family and friends" mom continues.

"You did?" Tobias asks while sharing a look with me. How the hell could they have figured that out.

"Of course, son" dad says standing up and coming over to hug and pat Tobias' back. "I'm so glad and proud of both of you."

"Why? For figuring out something?" I ask skeptical and starting to think we might talk about two different things here.

"Oh my god. I can't take this any longer" Christina practically yells out. "How far along are you?" she asks and every pair of eyes turns from her to me.

"What? What the hell are you talking about?" I ask.

"The pregnancy, sweetie" Evelyn says beaming.

I feel my jaw drop. I look toward Tobias who has a similar expression to mine. We look at each other briefly, swallowing hard.

"So?" I hear mom ask and look at her.

"This explains so much" Lynn says.

"Yeah. Her mood swings, the appetite. I remember how it was for me" Shauna says.

"Are you out of your minds?" I ask with a shriek.

"Baby, did you forget to tell me something?" Tobias whispers and I turn to look at him.

"No" I say louder than intended. I turn to look at the people gathered in my dining room. "I'm not pregnant!"

"You don't have to hide it" Evelyn says. "We already figured it out. You have all the symptoms, you even put on some weight, you radiate and why else would you all call us here to talk to us in person?"

"First of all, you have nothing figured out. You are wrong. I'm not pregnant. Second, what do you mean by I put on some weight? And what about the symptoms? Since when is crankiness and a healthy appetite only a pregnancy symptom? Has it ever crossed your minds I might be hungry because I work out a lot? Or that I'm cranky because shit happens a lot around here? And as for this gathering, we called you here to tell you we figured out who the guy is who kidnapped me" I say and storm out. Unbelievable! I run up the stairs into the bedroom to get the files. I had forgotten them earlier. I can't believe they thought I was pregnant. Am I fat or something? I look myself up in the mirror when Tobias enters.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Do I look fat to you?" I ask patting my tummy.

"You look beautiful, like always. But just for the record, you will look beautiful even when you're nine months pregnant" he says embracing me from behind and resting his large hands over my flat stomach.

"You're just saying that" I tease.

"No. I mean it. Come on. Let's go back, before they feel even worse" he says. I look at his reflection in the mirror and see him snicker.

"What?"

"After you left they apologized and felt guilty for jumping to conclusions. But maybe we should keep it to ourselves that we are trying to get pregnant" he suggests.

"You can bet your sexy ass we will" I say with a smirk.

"So you think I have a sexy ass" he says putting his arm around my shoulder.

"Of course I do. I thought that from the first moment I got to admire it, a year ago while you were giving us the tour. I walked behind you and checked out your sweet tushi" I say with a laugh.

"Good. I almost felt bad for having done the same with yours" he confesses.

"When exactly did you do that?" I ask still laughing while we walk toward the stairs, the files tucked under my arm.

"Any chance I got, baby. Especially, while we were climbing that Ferris Wheel" he says wiggling his eyebrows.

"Sneaky bastard" I say hitting him lightly in the chest. At that he pinches my butt cheek.

We return to the dining room where our friends and family look bashful at us. We sit down and open both files.

"The reason we called you here is something Tris discovered yesterday. It seems like the guy who kidnapped her is the same person who had a grudge against me and after trying to push me into the chasm was made factionless" Tobias tells them and I see both Evelyn and my mom gasp in shock.

"You mean that Steven dude that always picked a fight with you?" Zeke asks and Tobias nods.

"That dude had some serious attitude issues" Shauna remembers.

"Didn't he freak out because you supposedly made his girlfriend brake up with him?" Zeke asks.

"What was her name? Sherry?" Shauna asks.

"Yeah" he agrees.

"I think that was the shortest date in history" Zeke says.

"Also the most awkward" Shauna says chuckling.

"Okay, can we please move on" Tobias says a little irritated.

"How did you figure out that it's one and the same person?" Evelyn asks. I take out both pictures and show them to her, advising her to look at both carefully. One by one everyone here takes a look at them and agrees: Steven Mitchells and Romeo is one and the same person.

We explain to them how we came to the conclusion and decided to study both files to see if there are more similarities. We both leave out the part of Steven being a point thief. That's for leadership only to know.

After that we put the files aside and just enjoy our meal chatting about small things. At least until Shauna brings back the pregnancy topic.

"What the hell?" I ask. "I thought we were done talking about my imaginary pregnancy" I say irritated. Tobias and the guys are now on the balcony drinking some beer, while the women stayed in the living room.

"It's just that we can't wait to have a little grandbaby" my mom says surprising me. She isn't usually so outspoken.

"Can you imagine, Natalie? Oh, Tobias was such a sweet little baby. He smiled all the time" she says smiling and looking outside to watch her son. I follow her gaze and smile too. I remember my own son from my dreams and a deep longing settles in my heart.

"I can't imagine Four smiling" Lynn says. "He usually looks like he could rip your head off."

"That first day I almost peed my pants" Christina says and we laugh.

"I wonder how the baby would look like" Marlene says.

"A mix of Tris and Four, of course" Shauna says.

"Yeah, but would the baby look more like him or her" Marlene wonders.

"I wouldn't care. I just want a little grandbaby to cuddle and snuggle and love a lot" my mom says.

"Hey, don't keep the grandbaby all to yourself, Natalie" Evelyn chimes in and everyone laughs. Oh for God's sake. If they act like this while I'm not pregnant I don't want to know how they'll react and act when I actually get pregnant. But it's reassuring to hear that both grandmothers would get involved in the baby's life so early on. And I would love to have my mom near me when that happens. And Evelyn too. She has been so wonderful ever since we all talked and decided to give this a shot. I'm happy Tobias has his mother back and that Evelyn is part of our family. I'm sure she will be wonderful with my children, especially since I know she wants to make up for all the lost time with Tobias.

"Could we please change the subject?" I ask irritated. "I'm not even pregnant" I say exasperated. Mom and Evelyn share a look and then look at me saying "nope" at the same time. The girls laugh and I feel a blush creeping into my cheeks. I get up and walk outside to the guys. Surely they must talk about something else.

"So, when do you plan on giving me a grandbaby?" I hear dad ask Tobias, who blushes embarrassed.

"You have got to be kidding me" I say and they all turn to look at me.

"What?" Jack asks confused.

"I just left the living room after every woman in there had nothing better to talk about then me getting pregnant and here I am, joining you, thinking I could escape, but my father asks my husband to knock me up. You all disgust me" I say and leave them. I walk to the kitchen island where I have my keys and phone and walk out, ignoring the girls who call after me. I hurry downstairs to the Pit and walk as fast as I can to the pharmacy. I enter and buy three pregnancy tests. The woman there smiles at me but doesn't say anything. I grab the bag with the three tests and walk to my office. Thankfully my office is equipped with a small bathroom and I enter it. I take the tests out and get ready. I sit down and when I feel like peeing I put all three sticks in the path of the urine stream, wetting them enough to be useful. I clean myself up and set the sticks on the sink. Just as I finish drying up my hands my phone buzzes. I pick up and answer it.

"Honey, where are you?" Tobias asks.

"My office" I say. "I'll be right back" and hang up. I pick up the sticks and look at them. Huh, all three show a small minus sign. Not pregnant. I laugh to myself, but then it fades. For someone who wants to get pregnant I sure as hell was happy for the negative result. I pick them up and run back home. I open the door to find everyone turning around to look at me.

"Honey, I'm sorry. It was selfish of us to intrude. You two will have a baby when you feel it's the right time for you" my mom says apologetically and coming over to hug me.

"It's okay, mom. And I get that you want this to happen overnight, but slow down a little. I don't mind talking about it and you guys sharing your opinions, but at least hold back until it's actually happening."

"I guess we did let ourselves get carried away" Evelyn says with a chuckle.

"Yeah, we didn't mean any harm" my father says, mostly to Tobias who is standing next to him.

"I know. But just that you believe me I brought these" I say holding up the three pregnancy tests.

"You took three?" Shauna asks with a chuckle.

"What are those? Pens?" Uriah asks and the girls giggle.

"No, you dimwit" Lynn says.

"Those are pregnancy tests, honey" Marlene says to him.

"Why did you take three tests if you are not pregnant?" Dwayne asks confused.

"To show you guys that you got excited for nothing" I say. "See? They are all negative. Now can we please move on?" I ask. Shauna comes over to me and looks at the tests.

"Ah, sweetie, are you sure they are negative?" she asks with a smile.

"Of course I am. See? Each one has a minus sign" I say pointing at the singular line.

"Do you have a box?" she asks. I nod and hand her the bag with the empty boxes. She takes one out and looks at it. She then grabs all three of them and looks at the minus sign.

"What?" I ask when she still smiles widely.

"Sweetie, this brand doesn't give you plus or minus. It's two bars for negative and one for positive" she says smiling even wider. "According to these three sticks, you are knocked up good" she says and I feel my legs go weak. I look at her disbelievingly. I turn my head to find Tobias who looks just as shocked as me. I faintly hear someone speak, but the sound of that person's voice is far away. My vision becomes blurry and I feel myself falling into a bottomless pit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: How about that? i swear, if you guys aren't happy now I'll make an asteroid hit Dauntless :D


	82. Chapter 82

82

„Mommy?" I hear a small, yet familiar voice. „Wake up, mommy" I hear the voice again.

„What's happening?" I ask in a hoarse voice.

„Mommy" the voice is clearer now. I open my eyes and look into dark blue ones. I blink a few times to fully wake myself up and then look into the now familiar face of my unborn son. „Mommy, guess what?" he asks.

„What?" I ask smiling.

„Bithday, mommy. It's youw bithday" he says, unable to pronounce his r's.

„Buddy, why did you wake mommy?" I hear Tobias ask our son. „Sorry, love. I told him to let you sleep" he says and lays down on the bed next to me. Our son lays down between us and looks from me to his father and back and smiles brightly, reminding me so much of Tobias.

„It's okay. It's actually very pleasant to be woken up like this" I say caressing my sons cheek. I bend forward to kiss him and he giggles loudly.

„Happy twentieth birthday, honey" Tobias says.

„Thank you" I say and we lean over and kiss each other softly. My eyes are still closed when his lips leave mine and suddenly I hear more voices around me. I try to open my eyes, but I just can't.

„Tris, honey, please wake up" I hear Tobias' voice, full of concern and anguish.

„Make some room, give her some air" I hear Marlene.

„Here, the wet towel" Shauna says and I feel something cold hit the skin of my forehead. I try to open my eyes again and I finally see some light. „She's coming back" Shauna says. When I finally open my eyes the first thing I see are Tobias' dark blue eyes. His eyes immediately soften and he smiles at me.

„You had me worried" he says stroking my hair. I realize he is sitting on the couch and I am in his arms. He kisses my forehead and holds me close.

„I was so worried" he says in his mind.

„I'm sorry."

„How are you feeling?" my mom asks. I turn around to look at her, her beautiful face wrinkled from all the worrying.

„I'm fine. What happened?" I ask confused.

„You fainted" Marlene informs me.

„Oh" is all I say.

„What's the last thing you remember?" she asks.

„I was sitting here, talking to you guys" I say. „But then it's all blurry. I had the strangest dream. I dreamed I was pregnant" I say with a chuckle. „How ridiculous is that?" I ask, but nobody laughs or even smiles. They all look shocked. I turn to look at Tobias. He looks serious and a little concerned. „What?"

„What's wrong with her?" Tobias asks looking up and away from me.

„Just shock. Her mind needs to process everything" Marlene answers.

„What's going on?" I ask frustrated.

„Sweetheart, that wasn't a dream" Tobias says caressing my cheek.

„What?" I ask and try to sit up, but I'm hit by a wave of nausea.

„Lie back, baby" Tobias says and I do so, holding my head, which is throbbing now. „You went to the pharmacy and bought three pregnancy tests. You wanted everyone to lay off our backs and took them. But it turns out that they are all positive. Tris, we're going to have a baby" he says, the last part with a huge smile on his face. I close my eyes, trying to remember what he just told me. I remember getting up. I remember leaving the apartment. I went to the pharmacy. The woman there smiled at me when she saw the three pregnancy tests. I took them to my office. There were only minus signs on each of them, but Shauna assured me that this particular brand doesn't show a plus sign for positive but one bar for pregnant and two bars for not pregnant. All three sticks I peed on had one bar. I am pregnant. Oh my God, I'm pregnant. I open my eyes.

„I'm pregnant" I say louder than I intended.

„Yes, honey. We're going to be parents" Tobias beams, obviously very happy about the news.

I look at my watch and see that we are supposed to be back in the training room soon. I try to get up but Tobias pulls me back.

„Let me get up. We are supposed to be in the training room in ten minutes" I say.

„Forget it. We're going to the hospital to get you checked out. What's the number of your OB?" he asks taking out his phone and waiting for me to tell him.

„I need to make an appointment first. I can't just appear there."

„That's what I'm doing."

„I'll call Addison on our way to the training room. We need to go."

„No way. You come first. The initiates come later."

„Aw" all the women say in unison and I turn to look at them. They all smile and I roll my eyes.

„That's so adorable" Christina says.

„So sweet" Shauna says.

I force myself up and take my phone out. I'm still a little dizzy and Tobias holds me still by placing his hands on my hips. He knows that I don't want to sit down. I feel him stand up and I lean against his chest while waiting for Addison to pick up.

„Hello?" I hear her answer.

„Hello, Addison. It's Tris Eaton."

„Hello, Tris. How have you been?" she asks politely.

„Good thank you. And you?"

„Can't complain. How can I help you?"

„I was wondering if you had an opening. I kind of wanna check if I'm pregnant" I say and hear her chuckle into the receiver.

„Can I ask why you think you are pregnant?" she asks amused.

„I took a test" I say and look around everyone giving me a „are you serious" look. „Okay, I took three" I say and the people gathered in my living room smile.

„I'm free in an hour. If you could make it then I could look you over and check if you are indeed pregnant or the test is only a false positive" she says and I feel my knees go weak again. I lean some more into Tobias and he wraps his arms around me.

„Okay, thank you. We'll be there" I say and hang up.

„What is it, sweetheart?" my mom asks.

„She's right" I say and feel tears gather in my eyes.

„About what?" she insists.

„The test results... they could have been false positives. It's probable. And I had my period not long ago. And maybe I just got my hopes up" I continue mumbling, forgetting almost completely that I'm not alone. I turn around and bury my face in Tobias' chest. He holds me close, rubbing my back soothingly. I hear voices but I don't pay attention to them. I feel the tears spill but I don't care to stop them. I let them fall freely while letting Tobias comfort me. I don't even know why I'm acting like this.

"Hey, don't cry, honey. No matter what, it'll be alright, I promise" he says and rests his chin on the top of my head. I look up trying to see his handsome face through the curtain of tears. He gives me a reassuring smile and I nod. When I turn around to look at my mother I realize that except for my parents and Evelyn everyone else is gone, even Jack.

"Where did everyone go?" I ask confused.

"They gave us some privacy" Tobias simply states. "What did the doctor tell you?"

"She said she has an opening in an hour. We should go so that she can check me out."

"Alright" he says and places a soft kiss to my lips.

The five of us walk downstairs to the garage and take the car. Tobias is driving, I sit next to him and in the back sit my parents and Evelyn. We arrive at the hospital fifteen minutes later and I tell the front desk nurse that I'm here to see Addison. She smiles and calls Addison's office.

"I'll call you when Dr. Montgomery can see you" she says friendly and I nod. I sit down in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs next to Tobias who immediately grabs my hand in his. Evelyn sits adjacent to him and my parents right in front of us. The time seems to stand still and I get anxious by the minute. I start tapping my foot on the ground without even realizing it until Tobias places his large hand over my still bouncing knee.

"Calm down, honey."

"How can I calm down?" I ask looking at him in disbelief. Just as he wants to say something I see the nurse come to us.

"Dr. Montgomery can see you now" she says smiling.

I get up and drag Tobias up with me. We follow the nurse to the already familiar examination room. We enter and she leaves us there alone with Addison.

"Hello Tris, hello Four" she greets us friendly.

"Hi, Addison" I say and give her a quick hug.

"Hello, Dr. Montgomery" Tobias says politely.

"Please, Four, call me Addison" she says smiling. He nods. "So, how about I check you out?" she says to me. Tobias waits in the office and I enter the next room where the examination table is. I change into a hospital gown and wait for Addison to start.

"Addison?"

"Yes?"

"I had my period not too long ago" I tentatively say.

"Sometimes even pregnant women experience their period. It's not uncommon, but if you are indeed pregnant and experience more bleeding please contact me and go to the Dauntless infirmary immediately."

"But what if the tests were wrong?" I ask.

"There is a possibility, but the tests are relatively accurate and three individual tests giving the same result reinforces that statement. But I will ask you to give me a urine sample and a blood sample." I go into the small bathroom and pee in the little cup she gave me. When I'm done I wash my hands and return to the examination room. While I was gone the front desk nurse entered and is now waiting for both samples. I take a seat on the nearby chair while Addison draws a sample of blood. When she's done she hands it to the nurse who takes it to the lab. Addison assures me that within thirty minutes we'll receive the results. I then hop on the table and let her give me a pelvic exam.

"Is everything alright?" I ask after what feels like forever. She just kept silent the whole time.

"Everything looks good so far. I will perform an ultrasonography to check your uterus" she says preparing everything. Just as she gets ready her phone rings and she excuses herself. While she's outside I lean back and close my eyes.

"Tobias" I ask in my mind.

"Yes?"

"I'm scared."

"You don't have to be. I'll be right here when you come out."

"What if I'm not pregnant?"

"Then we'll try some more. I actually don't mind that part" he says trying to cheer me up.

"Me neither. But what if I am pregnant?"

"Then we'll have a baby, sweetheart. A little me with a lot of you" he says and I feel myself smiling.

"I hope you didn't fall asleep" Addison says and I open my eyes.

"No. I was just thinking" I say.

"Well, while I was out talking on the phone the nurse came back. Thankfully, the lab wasn't busy today and they checked already the samples I send to them" she says smiling.

"And?" I ask anxious while sitting up a little.

"Congratulations, Tris. You are pregnant" she says smiling a little wider.

"What?" I ask incredulous. "Are you sure? There's no way this is a false positive or someone else's test results?"

"No, I'm sure. Actually, this was the only pregnancy test ordered today. You are pregnant, Tris."

"Oh my God, I'm pregnant, Addison. I'm pregnant" I say loudly and smile from one ear to the other. I hop of the table and run into the other room where Tobias got up alerted by my yelling.

"Tris, are you okay?" he asks concerned. I leap into his arms and he catches me. I wrap my arms around his neck and almost cut his air supply off. "Honey, I can't breathe" he says and I let go slightly. I lean back, Tobias holding me firmly in his arms and I'm now a little over his head.

"Tobias, I'm pregnant. I'm going to be a mommy. And you're going to be a daddy. And we're going to have a little baby boy or baby girl. I don't care. We're going to have a baby" I say shrieking a little. When the news finally sinks in Tobias smiles widely and hugs me close to him.

"Is it really true?" he asks when he finally sets me down.

"Yeah, Addison just confirmed it. Both samples, blood and urine, confirm I'm pregnant" I say and he crashes his lips on mine. When we part he rests his forehead on mine smiling goofily. I can tell he is happy. I haven't seen him this happy since our wedding day.

"Congratulation, you guys" Addison says coming in.

"Thank you" Tobias says looking up at her. He lets go of me and takes a step toward her. To all our surprise he hugs are thanking her.

"I didn't do anything" she says chuckling.

"You just delivered the best news to us. Thank you, Addison" he says wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

"I'm happy about that, but Tris we weren't done yet. There's still the ultrasound left. Four, if you like you can come in too. I was just about to check Tris' uterus to see if there's a little baby in there when I received the test results" she says. Tobias and I share a look and we smile at each other. We follow Addison into the examination room where I hop on the table again getting ready. Tobias sits on the left side near my head and kisses my temple. I feel the cold wand enter me and turn my head to look at the monitor. To be honest, I can't see a thing, but Addison smiles and looks at us. "There it is" she says pointing at a little white dot on the screen.

"That?" Tobias asks amazed. "I can barely see it."

"I know. It's still very early. According to the test results and what I can see you are about three weeks pregnant, so very early. Right now your baby is as big as a poppy seed, but by the end of the week your little sugar pie will be made of 500 microscopic cells. Also, for the first time your body will produce human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG for short. This is a hormone that will be behind most of your pregnancy symptoms" Addison tells us. She continues talking and I try to pay as much attention as I possibly can, but that little white dot has all my attention to itself. I look away just for a moment to look at Tobias. He looks just as mesmerized as I feel. "Your estimated due date is March 16th."

When Addison is done she prints out a few snapshots of our little poppy seed, as she called it, and gives us a few brochures. We make an appointment for next month and say goodbye to her.

Tobias and I leave her office and just linger in the hallway, both of us staring down at the black and white picture in my hand. I turn to look at him and he smiles.

"We're going to be parents" I say in a hushed voice. His smile gets even wider and he wraps me in his arms kissing me passionately.

"I'm so happy, Tris. Thank you so much" he says, his eyes sparkling.

"It was a team effort" I say chuckling and he laughs. Before we walk down the hallway he puts his arm around me and kisses my temple.

"This will freak them out when they hear our news" he says tilting his head toward where our family waits for us.

"Come on. Let's go and tell them" I say, but I carefully fold the picture and give it to Tobias. He looks at me quizzical until he understands what I'm doing.

"Give me those" he says and takes the brochures, tucking them in the back of his pants, concealing them with his jacket. "You know, you can be really evil sometimes, my beautiful wife" he says with a chuckle.

"I know, my handsome husband. Now, give me a Four" I say and he transforms into the guy I met over a year ago.

We slowly walk into the waiting room, he looks straight ahead, while I look down, afraid I might betray my immeasurable happiness.

"So, what did the doctor say?" Evelyn asks standing up. We remain quiet. I turn around and wrap my arms around Tobias' midsection, trying to not give anything away.

"Son, please, tell us something" I hear my dad.

"Beatrice" I hear my mom and I can't hold the tears back anymore. I slip my hand into Tobias' jacket pocket and pull the picture out. Tobias grabs it from me and I feel how he stretches his arm out. I hear rustling and know that whoever took it is unfolding the paper.

"Oh my God" I hear Evelyn and mom say at the same time. I turn around allowing the tears to fall freely down.

"We're going to be parents" I say.

"Oh my sweet girl" mom says and pulls me into a bear hug. We are soon joined by Evelyn and my dad.

"Tobias, I'm so happy for you" Evelyn says letting go of me and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I am too, mom."

"Congratulations to both of you" she says.

"Thank you."

We exchange some more hugs and kisses, our parents congratulating us and carefully studying the first picture of their first grandchild.

"Oh, I can't wait for the baby to be here already" mom says as we walk to the car.

"When's your due date?" Evelyn asks.

"March 16th" I answer and Tobias squeezes my hand.

We invite them back to our place to celebrate some more, but dad has a meeting with the other Abnegation leaders and Evelyn has to return home as well. So, Tobias and I drive them to their destinations prolonging our family time with them.

By the time we are back home it's nearly five o'clock. We decide to go home and just look over the brochures Addison gave us and the picture of our little bundle of joy. We sit down on the couch looking at it mesmerized. I flip through the brochures trying to read a few things but I'm too excited to process anything.

"I can't believe it's in there" Tobias says placing his large hand on my still flat tummy.

"Yeah, me neither."

"Hi, baby, this is your daddy. I love you very much and I can't wait for you to be born" he says softly against my stomach.

"Your such a dork" I say chuckling.

"Well, you married this dork. So who's the bigger dork?" he teases.

"You are. You are taller and older" I say and we both laugh. "But I think it's adorable that you talk to the baby, even though the baby can't even hear you."

"Doesn't matter. I want my baby to know that his or her daddy is already in love with it and with the idea of being a daddy" he says honestly.

"I know" I say stroking his hair and he looks up. "And you're going to be a great dad, I promise you. If not for those visions I had, then for the fact that I know you and I'm sure you will strive to be the best dad you can be for our children" I say, emotion thick in my voice. I know that he fears he might become just like Marcus, but I know in my heart that's the farthest from the truth. He will be amazing. If he is half as loving and caring with our children as he is with me he will do just fine. But he won't do just fine. He will be even more loving with them doing anything he can to give them a childhood he never had. I kiss his forehead softly and he sits up. We lean back and keep looking at the picture in my hand.

At some point my stomach growls and he jumps up. He helps me up as if I couldn't do it on my own and leads me downstairs to the cafeteria. It's still a bit early and most Dauntless are yet to arrive. To our surprise however Lauren and Uriah have already dismissed the initiates and they are all filling in the cafeteria followed by our two friends. Tobias and I sit down and wait for Uriah and Lauren to join us.

"Do you want to tell them?" Tobias asks with an adorable grin on his face.

"Yeah, but let's wait for the rest of our friends to come."

"Alright."

Lauren and Uriah sit down in front of us, both of them keeping quiet, not knowing if they should bring up the events from earlier today or just drop it.

"So, are you knocked up?" Uriah asks, while taking a bite from his burger.

"Uriah!" Lauren scolds and elbows him, which makes him choke a little. I have to stifle a laugh but give Lauren an appreciative smile. She only nods and focuses on her food. One by one all of our friends gather in the cafeteria and sit down next to us. All of them glance our way but none has the courage to ask.

"I think we should tell them before they get wrinkles from all the looks they throw our way" I say in my mind with a chuckle.

"Okay. I love you" he says and looks at me smiling.

"I love you too." To my surprise Tobias stands up and then climbs up on the bench.

"Can I have everyone's attention please" Tobias says in his Four voice. Every pair of eyes turns his way. "I won't keep you from your meal for long. I just have a short announcement to make." Everyone keeps quiet, listening to their leader. Tobias keeps a serious expression and everyone wonders what he might have for them.

"You sure you wanna do this like this?" I ask and he turns to look at me.

"Of course I want to. Besides for a few other occasions this is the happiest day of my life" he gives me a small smile. "Today is a happy day. Today my beautiful wife and I received confirmation that we're going to be parents" he says proudly and smiles now brightly. There is a moment of silence before the entire room erupts into cheers and stomps and congratulations. I think everyone in the cafeteria comes over to our table to shake our hands or give us hugs. Well, they hug me. They don't dare hugging Tobias.

After everyone seems to have congratulated us at least once every one returns to their respective seats and we finally sit back down. Tobias goes to the line and brings us back two slices of Dauntless cake and we both dig in.

"We need to plan a baby shower" Christina says cheerful.

"Christina, calm down. I'm just three weeks pregnant. We have eight months to go" I say with a laugh and the others join in.

"But there's so much to do" she argues.

"There is, but just let us take one step at a time" I say and I suddenly jump up. I had forgotten that I put my phone on vibrate when we were waiting at the hospital. I look at the caller ID and don't recognize it. I answer it and realize I can barely hear anything. Tobias lets me walk out and I hurry out of the cafeteria.

"Hello? Who is this?" I ask.

"Tris, hello. I'm Myra's father" the voice says.

"Mr. Jenkins, uhm, hello" I say awkwardly. I don't know if he was already informed of Myra's death or not. Sam promised me she would take care of this.

"As you might now, my daughter perished in a fire in the factionless sector" he says chocked up. He knows. Oh my God, I feel so sorry for him. I can't imagine what it must feel like to lose your child. As I think of that I instinctively put my free hand over my stomach.

"Yes" I manage to say.

"I just called to let you know that we will have a service for her in the park in the center of the city and we will spread her ashes there. I thought maybe you and your husband would like to come. You were always so helpful" he says referring to the incognito meetings we arranged at first and then made it possible for them to meet without Mr. Jenkins being sanctioned.

"Of course we will be there. When exactly?" I ask.

"Tomorrow evening at seven p.m. Myra always loved the dusk and we want to honor her by spreading her ashes then" he says and I can hear how much effort he puts into not breaking apart.

"We'll be there. Thank you for inviting us. Mr. Jenkins, I know this won't help you, but my heart goes out to you and your family."

"Thank you" he says and I can hear how he starts crying. We quickly say goodbye and I let the poor man mourn his child. I return to my seat and Tobias immediately notices my mood change.

"What is it?" he asks.

"That was Myra's dad. There's going to be a sermon at the park in the city center and we are invited. I told we would be there. I hope you don't mind I made the decision without you" I say and lean my head on his shoulder.

"Not at all. When?" he asks wrapping an arm around me and placing his free hand on my tummy rubbing it softly.

"Tomorrow evening at seven" I answer and allow the tears I held back to fall. Myra and I weren't very close, but I think if she would have stayed in Dauntless we could have been good friends. I always liked her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What did you think of their reactions?
> 
> How will the funeral be like? Will they ever find out what happened to Myra? Who killed her and who tried to cover it up?
> 
> Also, I think by the next chapter I will announce who the fifth leader should be. So, if you haven't voted yet, it's still time. It's between Lauren and Dwayne.
> 
> Hope to hear from you soon.
> 
> Have a nice weekend and see you next Saturday!


	83. Chapter 83

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews this story. You guys rock.
> 
> Someone suggested names for the baby. The person wrote it's probably early, but in fact it's actually late. If you guys read my drabble series Moments we share you'll find out why :) However, maybe (and I'm not planning here) another couple gets pregnant and then I'll need you guys to help me with the names. But first thing's first. Should we celebrate a wedding or another pregnancy next?

83

Tobias and I arrive just ten minutes before the service starts. We hurry to where the funeral is held and stand in the back, not wanting to disturb the mourning crowd. I can barely hear a thing, partly from the crying but also the wind seems to have picked up a little. I look up and see heavy, dark storm clouds. I just hope the rain won't start until everything here is finished.

Half an hour later the sermon concludes and Myra's father thanks everyone for coming to say goodbye to his beloved daughter. I have given up on holding back my tears and have cried for the last ten minutes without pause. Tobias wiped the tears away at first, but they kept coming and he just let me shed them. After Myra's family and friends say goodbye to her Mr. Jenkins opens the urn and scatters her ashes. The wind spreads it all over the park and beyond and I realize that we will all be reduced to dust in the wind one day. But the time we spend here on Earth is what matters and the people who mark our lives. I cling even more to Tobias and he holds me close, comforting me the best he can. We wait for the people closest to the Jenkins' to say goodbye to the mourning family before we approach them.

"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins" Tobias says and stretches out his hand for Mr. Jenkins to shake. They do so and I give Myra's parents a small smile.

"Our condolences" I say and Mrs. Jenkins hugs me.

"Thank you, Tris. For all you did for our daughter" she says.

"I didn't do much" I say shyly.

"Yes, you did. If it weren't for you we wouldn't have been able to see our daughter and help her the best we could. Especially not with the old rules still standing. You changed this city for the better and gave us so much time with our Myra, time we wouldn't have had without you" Mr. Jenkins says. I don't know what to say to that so I just nod.

"Thank you for coming" Mrs. Jenkins says looking from me to Tobias.

"Of course" Tobias replies.

"It means a lot to us that the two of you came and I'm sure it means a lot to Myra too, wherever she now may be" Mr. Jenkins says with tears in his eyes. Again I am speechless. "Before Myra died she gave me this" he says pulling out a small black note book and hands it to me. "She said to give it to you if I don't hear from her within a week. She said it was important and you needed to read it. I am so sorry I only now give it to you, but with all that happened it completely slipped my mind" he says apologetically.

"Don't worry. It's understandable. Thank you" I say and hold it close to my chest.

After that we just say goodbye to each other and Tobias and I head back to the car. We don't say anything for a long while until he asks me about the book.

"Huh?" I ask turning my head to him.

"I said, I wonder what that book contains" he repeats.

"Yeah, me too" I say absentmindedly.

"What's wrong, love?" he asks, clearly concerned about my refusal to talk.

"I keep thinking of Myra and her parents. I know that death is part of our lives, but it's only now that we expect a child that I realize how devastated they must be" I say wrapping my arms around myself, trying to shield my unborn child from an invisible harm.

"I know what you mean" he says looking straight ahead. "The whole time we were there and I saw Myra's parents mourning I couldn't help but think of our baby. I swear to you, Tris, I will do anything I can to protect you and our child from any harm there is. I will die for you if necessary" he vows and my heart constricts painfully.

"Don't say that" I say panicked. He looks my way a little bit surprised. "Don't say you'll die. If you die, I die. Whatever may come we will make it together, as partners and as a family. So don't you dare, Tobias Eaton, to die on me" I say and he looks from me to the road and back to me again. He gives me a crocked smile and places his right hand over my left, which is still on my stomach.

"Alright. I don't want to upset you" he says. A flash of light and a loud rumble startles me and I let out a yelp. "Are you alright?" Tobias asks me.

"Yeah, the thunder just startled me" I say panting. "Get us home. I wanna curl up on the couch" I say and lean back in my seat.

We soon get home and head upstairs to the bedroom where we change into some comfortable clothes. I put on some dark gray yoga pants and wear a black tank top, while Tobias puts on his black sweat pants and a form fitting dark gray tee shirt. We go downstairs and Tobias makes us some hot cocoa, since I'm not allowed to drink any more coffee and he promised to avoid it as much as he can. I told him it's not necessary, but he insisted. We sit together on the couch and just snuggle, sipping our hot beverage from time to time, enjoying each other's company. I remember the book and get up. Tobias alerted by my sudden movement sits up straight.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"The book. I just remembered it. I think I left it upstairs" I say.

"I'll get it" he says getting up.

"No, I'll go."

"You need to rest" Tobias argues.

"I'm not tired" I say confused.

"You are pregnant. You need to take more care of yourself" he says and runs up the stairs before I can say anything. He is back a moment later with the book in his right hand. I take it from him and smack his arm with it. "Ow" he says. "What was that for?" he asks rubbing the place where I hit him.

"I can do that myself. I'm pregnant, not dying, Tobias. I'll take care of myself and the baby, but I can't stop doing things for this entire pregnancy" I tell him and sit back down on the couch.

"Don't be mad. I just want you and the baby to be alright" he says sitting next to me and pulling me close to him. I lean my head on his shoulder and let him wrap his arm around me.

"I'm not mad, but stop doing this. I can still do things by myself. If I need help I'll ask for it" I say and open the book.

"Honey, you don't ask for help, that's the problem" he says with a chuckle.

"I will. I won't do anything to hurt our baby" I say and turn the first page. I start reading, ignoring whatever Tobias is still saying.

"Dear Tris, if you read this I'm probably dead. I wanted to make sure that this reaches you. This is why I wrote everything down I found out and gave this to my father. In the book you will find everything I managed to find out from Edward and his accomplice. I was able to keep up appearances with Edward by becoming his lover again, but his friend, Drake, is suspicious. He often looks at me strangely and makes sure Edward sends me away when they have something to talk about. Lately, they both act suspicious. They are up to something, but I don't know what. In this book you'll find everything I found out. Be careful, Tris and good luck. Thank you for being my friend and I hope that this will help you. Goodbye. Myra."

"Tris?" Tobias asks, shaking me a little. I look up at him and he smiles a little. "There you are. I kept calling you, but you ignored me."

"I'm sorry. Here, read this" I say and hand him the book. He reads it and then looks at me. "What do you think this means?" he asks.

"I guess there's only one way to find out" I say. I take the book back and turn the page, but Tobias grabs it out of my hand. "Hey."

"It's late" he says.

"It's not that late."

"But I wanna snuggle with my wifey" he pouts. I laugh at his adorable pout and kiss it away.

"You, Mr. Eaton, are terrible" I say.

"And you, Mrs. Eaton, are mean. Come on. Just a little bit" he says and starts kissing my neck.

"Tobias, I really want to know what's in that book."

"I wanna know too, but I want you more."

"Might as well give in. Soon I'm gonna look like a cow and you won't find me attractive anymore" I say. He abruptly pulls back.

"Don't say that. You are beautiful and you will look even more beautiful once you start showing. I can't wait to see our baby grow inside you" he says serious.

"You're just saying that."

"Beatrice Eaton, I love you more than anything in the world. I don't care how you look" he says and I raise an eyebrow. "I'm serious. Besides, you won't be fat. You are pregnant and I'm proud that I put that baby inside you" he says and places his large palm over my flat abdomen.

"I love you, Tobias" I say with tears in my eyes.

"I love you too" he says and kisses my lips softly.

He stands up and gathers me in his arms. I giggle and he smiles. He carries me upstairs into our bedroom and lays me down on the soft, cool sheets. The rain outside has intensified and every now and then a flash of bright light splits the sky. The loud thunder is nothing compared to the loud rumble my heart makes in my ears.

Tobias lays down between my spread legs, holding himself up on his elbows. He starts kissing me again, this time more demanding and passionate then downstairs. I gladly open my mouth and allow his tongue to slip inside it to dance with my own. We soon discard our clothes and lie next to each other completely naked. Tobias trails kisses from my lips down my neck to my collar bone, nibbling lightly until he reaches my heaving mounds. He takes one of the hardened buds into his mouth and starts suckling on it greedily, while kneading the other breast thoroughly. I feel my body heat rise and fear that I might actually combust if he keeps this up. Once he leaves my breasts he travels downward to my womanhood, where he blows softly over the moist entrance. A shiver runs down my spine and I writhe underneath his touch.

"Tobias, I need you" I pant. I feel his smirk against my heated skin one moment, only to be replaced by the exquisite sensation of his tongue and mouth working my pussy. I cry out in pleasure and Tobias pushes his tongue inside my core. He retracts it and replaces it with two fingers, pumping relentlessly while sucking my sensitive bundle of nerves. I feel me release approach and grab a fistful of his hair as I throw my head back and shout his name. He keeps pumping his fingers in and out of me while his talented tongue cleans up my cum. I'm still coming down from my high when I feel his hard cock poking my entrance.

"I need to be inside you" is all he is saying. I nod my head and with one powerful thrust he buries himself deep inside me, letting out a guttural moan. A few seconds later he starts rocking his hips against mine and soon I join in, meeting each of his thrusts with my own. We increase our pace and I feel the familiar tingling of an earth shattering release creeping up on me. Tobias pulls back a little grabbing my ankles and placing them against his shoulders. He bends forward spreading me open even further than before, hitting a new angle and I immediately start squirming. He resumes his pounding and starts rubbing my sensitive clit with his thumb and before I know it a powerful orgasm washes over me and I feel like climbing up the walls. This is so fucking… awesome…what the fuck… I can't even think…Oh My God… please… mother… shit… I can't take it anymore. I cry out over and over again and I feel him tense up and spill himself deep inside me. He collapses on top of me, no longer able to sustain his weight on his arms. I love it when he lies down on top of me, I feel so close to him, but then he rolls off and I pout.

"I liked you there" I say.

"I know you did" he says with a chuckle, but trying to catch his breath.

"Then why'd you leave?" I ask, we are now lying next to each other, both on our backs.

"I don't want to hurt you" he says and I look at him confused.

"Why would you think that?"

"Honey, you are carrying precious cargo" he says and places his palm over my sweat covered stomach.

"Oh" I say. I didn't even think of that, but I doubt the baby would have felt anything.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Better than okay. Tobias, I don't know what was different, but fuck, I couldn't even think one straight word. I actually wanted to say stop, but I couldn't even think of it" I say laughing.

"Did I hurt you?" he asks propping himself up on his elbow.

"Of course not" I say mirroring him. "It's just, that was the most intense orgasm I've ever experienced. Thank you" I say and lean forward to capture his lips.

"Uhm, you're welcome" he says awkwardly.

"You can say that again, I came really well" I say and we both laugh.

"Come on. Let's get some sleep. We have a long day ahead. Tomorrow we'll announce the final ranking after phase one."

We both get under the covers and snuggle, talking about the baby and both wonder if the baby will be the little boy I so often dream about.

I wake up when a loud thunder rumbles outside. I jump up a little and place my left hand over my fast beating heart. Geez, I was never scared of thunder and lightning. What's wrong? I look to my right and see that Tobias is sleeping on his back, his upper body uncovered and his lower half barely covered, just enough to keep his manhood hidden. I get out of bed, trying my best not to shake the bed too much. I sigh when I'm standing at the end of the bed and putting on my dark silk robe. I walk downstairs and go into the kitchen. I pour myself a glass of cold milk and sit at the island. I am wide awake now and I doubt I can go back to sleep. I check the time and see that it's 4.30 AM. I decide to just hang out down here. I go into the living room and turn on the stereo, letting it play some soft ambient music. I sit on the couch and reach for the book Myra left me. I open it and read her letter to me again. It fills my eyes with tears thinking that somehow she suspected her end was near.

I turn the page and read the content. For the next several pages of the small notebook Myra writes short notes and adds dates. The oldest date is from right after I got kidnapped and the earliest is from two days before she died. I return to the first page of her notes and read the text.

"Thank God, Tris was found. I really thought Edward had something to do with this, but I've heard the guy who took her died."

The next few entries are about how she tried to gain Edward's trust back. She talks of how he isolated himself from the community and how he avoided Evelyn.

"I think he trusts me again, but I can feel he is holding back. I can't ask him, he might get suspicious and shot me out. I need to show him that I trust him completely. And maybe I do. We loved each other once. Very much."

Maybe she really tried to make it work, not just for our sake, but hers as well. She then writes about this Drake. He seems ruthless and just evil. He was kicked out of Dauntless for assault. I will have to check that. Unfortunately Myra doesn't know more. Or maybe she found out more later. I just need to read the book.

"Last night I gave myself to Edward. I thought it would be like old times, when he used to make sweet love to me. But it wasn't. The moment I had my pants down he turned me around and just fucked me, even after I asked him to stop. He seemed to have zoned out while doing it. When he was done he just left me there in a pool of sweat, come and some blood. He was never this rough before."

I read the lines a second time to make sure I read them correctly. She is practically saying that he raped her. Yeah, she offered it, but not like that. And to leave her like that… That's just cruel. I feel myself tense up and my body heat increase. I'm so angry right now I could punch someone. I turn the page to read some more, hoping that this was just a onetime occurrence. I read about how Edward and Drake meet and how Myra tries to spy on them. I also read how she met with her family, especially after the law permitted it. She seems so happy. I've noticed that for many pages she doesn't mention any physical relationship with Edward. I must say I feel relieved. But then I turn a page again and I gasp in shock.

"One morning, a week ago, a doctor in the hospital told me that I was going to be a mother." I smile at that, but then remember that Myra is gone and so is her child. "I immediately looked for Edward, to give him the news. Maybe the prospect of being a parent will change his mind and he will see reason. I couldn't have been more wrong. When I finally found him he was drinking some booze with his best buddy, Drake. I tried to get him to talk to me somewhere private, but he refused, saying that he had important things to do with his partner. I was too excited to wait any longer so I just told him. I really thought he would be happy, but he yelled at me and called me a lying, worthless slut. He told me that I probably slept with every guy around here and he doubts this is his baby. I cried so hard and pleaded with him to believe me. Drake laughed the whole time and when I refused to leave them they both started hitting me. I don't know who, but one of them kicked me hard in the stomach. I tried to get away from them, but it was too late. Both of them attacked me and before I knew it they both raped me over and over again until I passed out. I woke up later, it was dark outside, I was covered in dried blood, but I could tell my baby died. I looked around but none of them was in sight. I got dressed and went to the hospital." Her entry stops there. I can see that she cried while writing this. Tears fall from my own eyes and I can't help it and start sobbing. I let the notebook fall down to the ground and curl up on the couch wrapping my arms around my knees, trying to protect my own baby.

My sobs become louder, but I just can't help it. My crying must have woken Tobias because he suddenly appears seemingly out of thin air, kneeling down in front of me, a look of horror on his handsome face.

"Tris, baby, what's wrong? Did something happen? Are you alright? Is the baby alright?" he asks panicked. I unwrap myself and throw my arms around his neck.

"Tobias" I say.

He manages somehow to get up and sit on the couch. I curl onto his lap and cry hard. He lets me without asking anything more. He rubs my back and whispers sweet nothings into my ear, telling me he loves me and our baby and that everything will be fine. When I finally calm down I look up at him. His face betrays his concern.

"What happened, honey?"

"I read the book" I say, blowing my nose in the handkerchief Tobias handed me.

"What book?" he asks confused.

"The one from Myra" I say and get off his lap. I pick the book up and hand it to him. "It's horrible what she went through. She suffered alone. We need to find Edward and his friend, Drake. They need to be punished" I say and sit next to him.

"I don't understand" he says.

"Read it. I haven't finished it yet, but I guess you will stop too when you get to the part where I started crying" I say and new tears form in my eyes. He wipes them away and nods.

I go into the kitchen and start making coffee. I want to be as far away from that book as possible. It doesn't take Tobias long to get to the first time Edward abused Myra. I hear him swear under his breath. Oh, my sweet Tobias. You haven't even gotten to the worst part yet. By the time the coffee is ready and I pour it in Tobias' favorite mug and get myself some more milk I hear Tobias abruptly get up and swear loudly.

"That bastard!" he almost shouts. "How could he?" Tobias says and throws the book against the wall. He walks into the kitchen and for the first time in a long while Four has completely taken over my husband. He is furious. I'm sure if Edward would be here right now Tobias would rip him to pieces. He paces in front of me, glancing at me every once in a while, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. When he opens them they are still fiery but have softened. He pulls me gently into his arms and keeps me close. "I'm sorry if I scared you" he almost whispers now.

"You haven't scared me and I understand. I could kill him too" I say.

"How could he do something like this? It's just disgusting."

"I know. We need to find him and his friend and bring them to Candor. What they did to her is unforgivable" I say. We both sit down at the island and try to think of a way to find those bastards. It's still too early to call Evelyn and alert her, but as soon as the morning comes I'll call her.

"Are there more entries in that book?" Tobias asks, after sipping from his mug.

"I really don't know. After that last one I just couldn't read anymore" I say and rub my belly. Tobias notices and wraps his arm around my middle, his fingers gently grazing my tummy. He kisses my temple and leans his head against mine.

"You shouldn't read that anymore. I will. I don't want anything bad happening to you or the baby" he says. How different he is from what people think of him. They only see Four, but I had the privilege to meet Tobias. And how different he is from Edward. I would have never guessed that he could do anything like that. It was bad enough that he denied being Myra's baby's father, but to insult her and abuse her that's just horrible.

"I'm fine, Tobias. She left that book for me. She sacrificed everything to get that information for us. But I promise I will be careful. In fact, I want us to read that book together. I'm not sure I can do it by myself anymore."

"Good, 'cause I don't want you to. I know you are strong and brave, but I love you and all I want is to keep you safe from harm, any harm" he says and kisses my temple again.

"Should we read it now?" I ask and look at him. He frowns.

"I'd like to say no, but better get it over with and start the search for those bastards" he says and gets up to pick up the book where it fell. We both sit down on the couch, since it's more comfortable, Tobias looking for the last page we both read. When he finally finds it we start reading.

"The doctor allowed me to go home, although that place isn't really my home. I now wish I wouldn't have followed Edward, to Dauntless or a life of being factionless. Maybe if I'd stayed in Dauntless after he got stabbed I would have made it and would be living now in a warm apartment and have a nice job. I would have gladly become a fence worker if nothing else would have been available for me. Maybe even find someone decent, get married, have children. My life could have been so different. But I chose Edward and that was my downfall."

"Would she have made it?" I ask and Tobias looks at me with a curious look on his face. "Through initiation I mean" I add.

"I honestly don't know. During phase one Myra was slightly better than you" he says and I nod remembering how I watched the score board every day, hoping my name would climb up. "But she left after Edward got stabbed. Sometimes it's clear that people won't do well during initiation looking on their results from phase one, but then are those who excel in phase two and three, like you did."

"Yeah, but I'm Divergent" I argue.

"Happy coincidence" he says with a smile. "I've seen initiates during my initiation and after that who aren't Divergent and still did better during phase two. There's one thing to train your body for combat and something completely different to be able to control your mind. You can always work hard to train both body and mind, but as someone who went through Dauntless initiation and has been an instructor for three years now I can tell you it's easier to work your body to the limit than controlling your fears during your fear landscape. To be able to do that, even if you aren't Divergent, requires mental strength and believing in yourself and your abilities" he explains.

"You are smart" I say with a smile.

"Did you think you married a dumb caveman?" he asks with a chuckle.

"Dumb? No. Caveman? Definitely" I say and we both laugh. "I mean it. You are smarter than you let people know. Did you ever think of taking the aptitude test for real, to see what you're results would have been? I mean I know you are Divergent, like me, but I got three out of five" I say.

"To be honest, I don't care. I told you, I don't want to be defined by that test. I want to be brave, selfless, intelligent, honest and kind" he says, repeating the exact same words he spoke to me over a year ago when he showed me his tattoo. "I'm still working on kind" he adds, just like last year.

"Well, you definitely got better in that department and not just with me. I mean you opened up to your friends, my parents, you got back together with your mom. It's the little steps that count, baby" I say and caress his cheek. He leans in and kisses me softly.

After we part we continue reading the few entries before she died. I try to pay attention, but my mind drifts off to her and how unhappy she was in her last weeks or even months of her life. I wish I could turn back time to the day she left Dauntless and stop her. But she loved Edward and if it would have been Tobias I would have followed him to hell and back.

"What the hell?" Tobias asks loudly and startles me.


	84. Chapter 84

84

"What the hell?" Tobias says loudly, pulling me out of my daydream.

"What is wrong?" I ask alerted.

"Read this" he says pointing with his finger to the phrase he just read.

"I kept my distance from Edward and Drake for as long as I could, but unfortunately we live in a small place and bumping into each other isn't really avoidable. Thankfully, I managed to hide behind a large crate without him or Drake seeing me. But there was another man I've only seen once before. The man is from Abnegation and he was there the day of my Choosing Ceremony and called out my name."

"Marcus" I say and Tobias nods with an angry expression on his face.

"They talked for a while but I could only hear bits and pieces. I don't know how much this will help, but maybe you can make more out of it. Drake told the Abnegation man that he better pay and the man nodded. I don't know what Drake was paid for and what the payment was, but the Abnegation man handed Drake a large suitcase. Drake took it and disappeared. I stayed behind because Edward and the Abnegation man didn't seem to move. The Abnegation man asked Edward to call him when it's done. He then walked away. I chose to follow Edward to see what he's up to, but I lost him. I don't know how. There are no doors where he went through. I even thought maybe he turned a corner and I didn't see him, but he just vanished."

"What do you think this means?" I ask Tobias.

"I don't know. But if Marcus went to the factionless sector to meet with these two low-lives it can't be good. We need to notify my mother. She needs to start the search for Edward and Drake" Tobias says looking over the last entry again.

"Tobias, she is already looking for Edward" I say frustrated.

"Yeah, but until now we just assumed someone tried to kill him. What if someone tried to avenge Myra or that other man? While I'm not completely against that person finding him and killing him, I would like him to be punished for what he did to that girl."

"Me too." I look at the clock on the wall and see it's nearly seven a.m. It's still a bit early. "I'll call Evelyn after breakfast" I say.

"Alright. I'm going to go over there later to talk to her in person. I want her to know everything, but I want to tell her in person" he says and gets up. I watch him walk into the kitchen and wash up his mug.

We both eat breakfast in the apartment and then leave to get to the training room. Today the results after stage one of training will be announced and we'll soon start phase two. We'll give the initiates a day off and starting tomorrow we'll start with the fear landscapes. I wonder if my fear landscape changed.

While Tobias gathers all the initiates, Dauntless-born and transfers alike, I call my mother-in-law and tell her what's happening.

"Hi, Tris."

"Hello, Evelyn."

"What's wrong? You sound sad? Did something happen to the baby?" she asks concerned.

"No, baby's fine. I called you because yesterday Tobias and I were at Myra's funeral. Her father handed me a book. She wrote down everything she could find out about Edward's activities and more. Tobias will come later to you to tell you more. As of now Edward is a fugitive from the law. He and a friend of his, Drake, abused and beat up Myra and honestly the more I think about it I believe they might have something to do with her death."

"Oh my God. Are you sure?" Evelyn asks shocked.

"No. We need to find those two and bring them to justice. I'll go to Candor later to talk to Jack Kang and alert him. Maybe he can help."

"Are you going to alert the Council as well?" Evelyn asks.

"No. At least not for now. This investigation needs to remain secret for now. The people you put in charge of searching for Edward and Drake shouldn't know the truth. Someone might be helping them and I don't want them to know we know about their crimes."

"Crimes? As in more than one?" Evelyn asks disgusted.

"Yeah. Tobias will tell you more. I can't give him the actual book, because I need it as evidence when I go to Candor. One more thing. This friend of Edwards, Drake. Myra wrote in her book that he was Dauntless but was kicked out. Do you know anything about him?" I ask hopeful.

"To be honest, not much. He was always a troublemaker and talked about Dauntless with hatred. I'm going to ask around to see if anyone knows more about him" she says.

"Please, do that. But be careful. We don't want to draw attention."

"Don't worry. We have already established that Edward and Drake are missing. The entire community is looking for them. I'll ask around to see if there are any friends and tell people that they might hide because some might have a grudge. I'll tell them that we need to find them to keep them safe."

"That's smart" I say admiringly.

"Didn't think that of your mother-in-law, did you?" she asks and I can picture the smirk on her face.

"I never said you weren't" I say laughing lightly.

"On a more cheerier note. When are you and Tobias planning on having the baby shower?" she asks.

"I gotta go" I say chuckling. "But feel free to ask your son" I say as I see him approach.

"Ask me what?" he asks confused.

"Bye, Evelyn" I say and hang up.

"Ask me what?" he repeats.

"Your mom wants to talk baby stuff and since you're going to pay her a visit I thought she could discuss it with you" I say grinning.

"That was mean, Mrs. Eaton" he says.

"Hey, you deal with your crazy mother, I deal with mine." We both laugh and walk out of the room. "How did the initiates take the rankings?" I ask, realizing I haven't paid attention.

"Some were happy, others not so much. But this is just phase one. Besides, no one will get cut and maybe now they'll work harder" he says.

"Yeah, maybe. I have to call Connor" I say.

"Why?"

"He has been in charge of things around here a lot longer. He could help us find people who know Drake. Maybe someone in here is helping him and Edward to keep a low profile."

"Maybe" he says pensive. "Baby, I've been thinking" he starts saying.

"I'm so proud of you" I say teasingly while dialing Connor's number. I look up at Tobias as I hit the dial key and see how he rolls his eyes, but smiles.

"As I was saying. I was thinking to add a fifth leader" he says and I hold my finger up.

"Hi, Connor."

"Hi, Tris. How can I help you?"

"Do you have a minute?"

"Sure."

"Where are you?"

"My office."

"Okay. Four and I will be there in five. Could you do me a favor and call Tori? It won't take long but it's urgent."

"No problem" he says and we hang up.

"Fifth leader?" I ask.

"Yeah. It's customary to have an uneven number of leaders. Right now it's just four of us. I have someone in mind, but I want your opinion on it" he says grabbing my hand in his.

"Hit me" I say.

"What?" his head snaps in my direction. "Why would I do that?" he asks appalled.

"It's a saying. Just forget it. Tell me who you had in mind" I say rolling my eyes.

"Dwayne" he says.

"Dwayne? Tori's Dwayne?"

"Yeah. I trust him with my life and I know that I can count on him. He lives and breathes for Dauntless and would do anything to protect anyone. He is fair and just and people trust and respect him" Tobias tells me.

"Do you think it's a good idea? I mean I like Dwayne and I can see your point and agree with all you've said. But he and Tori are a couple" I say skeptical.

"So? You and I are a couple and it works great" he argues.

"True. But we've decided this together and we took into consideration how leadership would affect our personal lives. Maybe before we ask Dwayne if he even wants to join us, we should talk to Tori and ask for her opinion. Sometimes it's hard to work with the person you love" I say as we walk up the stairs to the Pire.

"Are you saying it's hard working with me?" he asks seriously.

"Sometimes. You have your opinions, I have mine. Yeah, we figure things out, but sometimes it's difficult to not take it personally."

"I know what you mean. You can be real stubborn sometimes" he says with a chuckle.

"You are just as stubborn" I counter and tickle his side, which makes him laugh.

"Stop it or I'll tickle you, Mrs. Eaton" he whispers seductively in my ear.

"Promise?" I whisper back.

"Careful" he says serious.

We soon arrive at Connor's office and knock on the door. When he tells us to enter we open the door and find that Tori already got there.

"Thanks for meeting us on such short notice. Four, could you please discuss with Tori what we talked about in the hallway" I say looking at him. He looks a bit surprised first, but nods. He and Tori walk outside so that Connor and I can talk in private. "Sorry for that. We'll explain this in a minute, but the matter concerns Tori a bit more" I say vaguely.

"Alright. How can I help you?" Connor asks with a small smile.

"There is an ex-Dauntless named Drake. I don't know his last name. Apparently he was kicked out for assault. I hadn't had the time to check things myself, initiation and all" I say.

"Congratulations, by the way" he says standing up and giving me a hug.

"Thank you."

"I wasn't in the cafeteria when Four announced it, but I heard about it. But work kept me busy and I wanted to congratulate personally instead of over the phone" he says smiling.

"Thank you" I say again.

"So, you two excited? Thrilled? Freaked out? Nervous?" he asks.

"Uhm, all of the above" I say with a chuckle. "We are happy about it. We really wanted a baby. Freaked out? A little. We are both definitely nervous."

"Don't worry. You two will be just fine. Every parent is nervous and scared and it never really goes away" he says leaning against his desk.

"Thanks for the pep talk" I say.

"Dorothy and I have two kids, Mike and Jude, twins, five years old" he says and shows a picture of them and their mother.

"They look so cute" I say. "How is it? I mean being a parent."

"Difficult, but definitely rewarding" he says as I hand him back the picture, which he places carefully back on his desk facing his chair. "You just need to take one step at a time, live each day one by one and don't over think things. You can read all the books on parenthood you can find, but in the end it's instinct. But you will make mistakes, a lot actually, but you'll learn from them. Don't necessarily listen to others when it comes to raising your kids. What works for them might not for you and vice versa. You need to find your own rhythm and way of raising your kids. People might give you advise, but trust your heart and talk things through with Four when it comes to your children and marriage for that matter. I know I'm giving you an advice right now" he says with a chuckle "but the only thing that really works with any relationship is communication, whether it's your partner, your kids, your friends, your co-workers. Better talk things through than holding a grudge or staying upset with each other for too long."

"Thank you, Connor. That's a good advice. Four and I always try to work things out. Sometimes it's easy other times I would kick him stupid for being such a bonehead" I say.

"Hey? Who are you calling a bonehead?" Tobias ask coming in with Tori.

"Just my husband. He can be so thick sometimes. But, in his defense, I can be real bitchy sometimes too, so all is forgiven" I say as he wraps an arm around my waist and kisses me softly and short on the lips.

"Have you talked to Connor about Drake?" Tobias ask.

"Who's Drake?" Tori asks curiously.

"I was about to when we started talking about kids. Did you know that Connor has two adorable five year old twins?" I ask my co-leaders.

"I didn't" Tori says smiling and Connor hands her the picture. "Oh my God, they are so cute."

"Right? That's what I said."

"How are they?" Tobias asks. "Last time you said they had the flu."

"A lot better. Thanks for asking."

"You knew about them?" I ask Tobias surprised.

"Yeah. Connor and I talked about kids one day and he mentioned them."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask pouting.

"'Cause you always yell at me that I leave the toilet seat up" he says pecking my cheek.

"Not true. I'm not always doing that. Otherwise you would sleep on the couch more often" I say.

"As adorable as this may be, could we please get back to business. I have a ton of stuff to do" Tori says amused.

"Yeah, right. I just mentioned a guy named Drake to Connor. He was Dauntless and was kicked out for assault. I don't know his last name or when that happened. But we have reasons to believe that he is involved in as series of crimes in the city. I will go to Candor after our meeting to talk to Jack and see what we can do. Nut it would be helpful to get as much information on him as possible."

"I assume he is missing" Connor says.

"Yes. Tris and I have already alerted my mother, who is the leader of the factionless, to look for him ad Edward."

"Edward?" Connor asks confused.

"Remember last year, an initiate got stabbed in the eye. That's Edward. Over the past year he changed a lot and we have reason to believe that he and this Drake are planning some crime. We need to find them. It is possible that Drake has contacts here in Dauntless, someone who is aiding him and Edward, because the factionless couldn't find them anywhere."

"What do you need me to do?" Connor asks.

"This is very sensitive, so we need to keep this as quiet as possible. If you have someone you trust completely, we need someone to check the records and find Drake and everything related to him" I say.

"Top secret, huh?" Connor says pensive.

"I think I have just the right person. I'll take care of it" he says.

"Good. Please if you find something contact me or Tris immediately" Tobias says and Connor nods.

"Do you need me to work on this too?" Tori asks.

"No. But you are a leader as well and we wanted you to know about it" Tobias tells her. "and now to the second issue. I was just telling Tris that we need a fifth leader. I originally had two people in mind who would fit the bill perfectly."

"You only told me about one person" I say looking at him a bit shocked.

"The two people are Lauren and Dwayne" Tobias says. Yeah, I can picture Lauren as a leader. She is fair and knows Dauntless very well. She knows how to handle problems, being an instructor she can be very creative in finding solutions.

"And who should we ask?" Connor asks Tobias.

"After considering all the facts and talking to both of them, obviously I haven't mentioned leadership in any way, I came to the conclusion that Dwayne would be the best fit" Tobias says and Connor nods.

"'Cause then it would be two against three?" Tori asks with a chuckle.

"Nah-uh" I say. "Forget it. They can dream of having the advantage" I say and she laughs.

"No one has any advantage here" Tobias says.

"Yeah, yeah, I know" I say. "So, Tori? What do you think?"

"Four told me about your concerns and at one hand I do agree with you, but on the other Dwayne would make an excellent leader. I'm sure he and I will discuss it before he gives his answer and we will weigh together our options" she says.

"Okay. Connor?"

"I had the pleasure to work with Dwayne and think of him already as a leader. So yes."

"You know my opinion" Tobias says smiling.

"Alright. Should we call him now or later?" I ask.

"Let's do it now" Tobias says and takes out his phone dialing Dwayne's number. They have a short chat in which Tobias asks him to come to Connor's office.

"So, when's the baby shower?" Tori asks surprising us. She smiles widely at us and I roll my eyes.

"What's with all the women around me asking me this?" I ask with a chuckle.

"We are just excited. Imagine, Connor, a little Four running around Dauntless, staring other toddlers down" she says looking at our co-leader and friend.

"Or maybe it's a little Tris and has just as many ideas as her mommy" Connor teases.

"It's a boy" Tobias and I both say and look at each other smiling.

"How do you know?" Tori asks curiously.

"Yeah, isn't it too early to know this?" Connor asks just as confused.

"It's what we wish for" I say. "Although, maybe the little boy I see in my dreams is the baby I'm carrying" I say in my mind.

"I was thinking the same thing" Tobias replies and smiles warmly at me. Just then a knock on the door announces Dwayne arrival.

"Come in" Connor says.

"Dwayne, good that you could make it" Tobias says shaking his hands.

"What is this all about?" Dwayne asks confused. "Did I do something wrong?" he asks, genuinely nervous.

"No, of course not" Tori says smiling.

"We asked you here today, to talk to you about something" Tobias starts saying.

"Dwayne, would you consider being our fifth leader?" I ask.

"Babe, I had a speech prepared" Tobias says looking at me.

"What?" Dwayne asks in disbelief.

"Four, I've got stuff to do. All of us. Dwayne, we considered it plenty and we think you would make a fine addition to our leader team. You don't have to answer now, take your time, consider things carefully, talk to your significant other and get back at us. I gotta go" I say and rush out.

I hurry to my office and unlock the door. Tobias is right behind me but I slam the door to the wall and rush to the bathroom. I just manage to kneel in front of the toilet before I empty the entire content of my stomach into it. Tobias kneels down behind me and rubs my back soothingly. He makes sure my hair is out of my face and just holds me while I vomit a second time.

"Are you alright?" he asks after I finally manage to stand back up.

"Yeah, I'm okay now" I say and rinse my mouth. Tobias flushes the toilet and stands behind me keeping me steady. "That was fun." We walk into my office and I sit down on the couch, pulling my legs under me. Tobias sits down next to me and I curl into his side. He securely warps his arms around me keeping me close.

"Morning sickness?" he asks.

"I guess. Or you really fucked up breakfast this morning" I say, trying to cheer us both up. I hate being sick and he hates seeing me sick.

"Hey, don't blame me" he says with a chuckle. "It's not my fault."

"Technically, it is" I say and look at him.

"Please, do explain."

"You got me pregnant" I say and smile at him.

"I remember it being a team effort" he says and rubs his nose against mine.

"Yeah." I lay my head back on his shoulder and just close my eyes for a minute. "I need to go to Candor" I say.

"I'll drive you there on my way to my mom" he tells me. "I can come pick you up when you're done. Or we could ask Jack to come over here."

"No, we can't. He is busy. It won't take much to bringing him up to speed, but it will be time consuming to ask him to come here."

"Alright. Then I'll go. I talk to Jack and then go to see my mom. You should rest. Tomorrow we'll start the fear landscapes and it will take a while to go through everyone's" he says. I want to argue, but I feel tired and a little depressed.

"Okay."

"What?" Tobias asks looking at me. I look up at him. "you actually agree with me, Mrs. Eaton. A miracle, people. Tris Eaton agrees with her husband. Where's a calendar?" he asks looking around.

"Stop it" I say chuckling. "You are right. I'm tired and I don't feel at my best. I don't want to puke all over Jack."

"It's settled then. But bring back the note book."

"No problem. Come on. Let's get you home" he says and gets up. He helps me up as well and we walk back up to our apartment. He takes the note book and makes sure he has his phone with him in case on an emergency, kisses me goodbye and leaves. I walk upstairs to my bedroom and change into something more comfortable. When I return downstairs I decide to go outside on the balcony to read the novel I started a few weeks ago. I must have been very tired because slowly I fall asleep. When I wake up again Tobias lies down on the lounge chair with me lying against his chest. He must have picked me up while I was asleep and settled us back down.

"Hey" I say looking up at him.

"Hey. Did you have a good nap?" he asks smiling lovingly.

"I did actually. You are back early" I say.

"No. You just slept for a very long time. I've been home for almost two hours and I found you sleeping here already. But it's nearly four p.m." he says and I check his wrist watch.

"Wow, I must have been really tired if I slept through lunch" I say and settle back against his hard body.

"You hungry? Want me to make you something?" he asks.

"I am, but let's stay like this for a couple more minutes."

"Okay."

"How where your meetings?"

"Good. I told Jack everything we know so far and promised to keep this between us for the time being. I told him if anyone might ask him about our meeting he should say that we invited him and Vanessa over and we ended up talking about men things."

"Men things?" I ask with a chuckle. "What's that supposed to mean? Is that an euphemism for penis?" I ask amused.

"No" he says laughing. "Mrs. Eaton, get your head out of the gutter. No, you know leadership and stuff. I don't know. He'll figure out what to say. As for mom I gave her the note book to read but made her swear not to say anything and act casual when she finds any of them. We don't want them to suspect a thing."

"What did she say about Marcus' involvement?"

"The usual. Some strong expletives, some minor threats. You know, same ol', same ol'" he says. "And she and Natalie plan a baby shower, by the way."

"What?" I ask sitting up.

"You heard me. Apparently our mothers have the whole thing planned. They even want to involve the girls and the guys and everyone they've ever met to come over this Saturday to celebrate their yet unborn grandchild" he says.

"I hope you told her not to do that" I ask.

"Have you ever tried telling her no? I even gave her my most intimidating Four-stare which didn't work. The guy who was there helping her with some stuff backed away but she didn't even blink. She actually slapped me over the head for glaring at her. You need to talk to Natalie and stop this. I don't want a bunch of people here on Saturday. I want some alone time with my wife. In eight months from now we won't have one minute to ourselves let alone an hour or a day."

"I know. I'll talk to mom and ask her to postpone this for later. Besides, we don't even know if it's a boy or a girl. Yeah, I know I have these dreams about a little boy, but maybe this one" I say rubbing my belly "is a girl. I think I can convince her to wait until we at least know what it'll be."

"Good. But don't tell her I said it. I don't want another slap" he says rubbing his neck absentmindedly.

"Don't worry. I'll take the blame" I say with a chuckle and kiss his lips. I lean back on his chest and pick up the phone from the table next to the chair. I dial mom's number and wait for her to pick up. When she finally does I greet her.

"Hello, sweetheart. It's so good to hear you" she says and I smile.

"Good to hear you too" I say and hear someone else speak. "Who's there with you?" I ask.

"Evelyn" she answers. I look back at Tobias.

"What?" he whispers. I put my hand over the phone to block the sound and whisper his mom's name. He frowns and I chuckle.

"Listen, mom. Tobias went to visit his mom today and she told him you guys are planning a baby shower" I say.

"Yes. Isn't it wonderful?" mom asks excited.

"No, mom. It's not. I'm three weeks pregnant. We don't even know what we'll have, a boy or a girl. I don't want a baby shower. At least not yet" I say.

"But…" mom tries to speak and I say the words I tried to avoid.

"No, mom. I'm still in my first trimester. Even though I'm young and healthy at this point I could have a miscarriage. I don't want a room full of baby things to remind if something so horrible. Let's wait for my second trimester and especially let's wait and see what I'll have. That's my final word and I don't want to hear another word of a baby shower any time soon. Are we clear?" I ask sternly. I hate talking like this to her, but maybe she and Evelyn and hopefully everyone else will back off for the time being.

"Alright" mom says a little defeated.

"I have to go, mom. I love you."

"I love you, too. Take care of yourself and my grandbaby" she says a little sad.

"I will. Bye." We say goodbye and hang up. I lean back against Tobias and let him hold me for a long while. But I guess what I said must have affected him too.

"You really think something like that could happen?" he asks.

"I don't know. I hope not. It would be devastating and I don't want to think about it. But there's a possibility. Addison explained it to me and I also read those pamphlets she gave us. We could be as careful as we want and it could still happen."

"It'll be fine, sweetheart. You'll be fine, the baby will be fine. Stop thinking about it. Come on, let's eat something. I'm famished" he says. We get up and walk into the kitchen where we make some pasta. The entire time I think of the possibility of losing my child and silently start praying that some deity is watching over us.


	85. Chapter 85

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So sorry for the delay. These past few days were really shitty. I'll spare you the details. I didn't want to just post a chapter for the sake of it. i needed to re-read this one a few times to make sure it's alright. There still might be some typos in there, but well...
> 
> For those of you who read For Better or Worse I'll post a new chapter soon. Sorry for that too. But again. I would rather delay posting than posting crap. But that's just me.
> 
> And another thing. I'm planning a new Divergent story, this one more sci-fi. I hope you guys will read that one too. It's a major project. I want it to be at least half as long as this one. The story will be completely different, as in it's AU but not specifically modern day. I can't tell you more, but I'll let you know when the first chapter will be posted. I will try to finish For Better or Worse as quickly as I ca, so that I can focus both on YAMATW and the new story.
> 
> Until then, enjoy this new chapter.

85

We've been going through fear landscapes for hours now. Each of the initiates had at least eight or nine fears, the highest number being fourteen, a Dauntless-born. I would have thought a transfer to have the most. Guess I was wrong. I was tempted to go through my own fear landscape, but thought better of it. I don't want to stress out, especially now that I'm pregnant. I don't want to hurt my baby. Maybe I'll go through it later, after the delivery.

There are two more initiates left. Since Lauren and Uriah finished already with their initiates they offered to take the last one of ours. Monica is mine and Tobias' last initiate and she looks from him to me with big eyes. Obviously she is scared, but I try to calm her down as much as I can.

"It'll be alright. Try to control your fears, try to control your breathing and your heart rate. If things go too far we pull you out" I reassure her. She nods and takes a seat on the chair. While Tobias prepares the program I prepare the serum. I inject it into her blood stream and push her into the chair. Soon the serum activates and we watch her fears on the screen.

The first fear is of spiders. Hundreds of them appear out of thin air and crawl toward her. She tries to run away but wherever she turns more spiders come. Just ahead of her a torch appears and she runs toward it. She grabs it and points it toward the spiders burning them out of her way. The image goes dark and I know she is done with this fear. Her next fear is strange. She is on a beach. The sun is shining, the sea looks calm. Monica enters the water and takes a few tentative steps. Suddenly, the ground disappears and she starts thrashing. The more she struggles to stay above sea level the more she is dragged to the ground. There is no escape. She is now completely under water trying desperately to swim to the surface, but is unable to do so. She closes her eyes and I can see on the monitor that she tries to calm her fast beating heart. The screen goes dark and a new image appears. We are in the meadow behind Abnegation. I wonder what we're doing here. She isn't an Abnegation transfer. She takes a few steps and I recognize the path. Don't tell me… Yup. The Hanging Man. I can't believe she is afraid of a made up dead person. I chuckle to myself and Tobias looks at me with a curious expression.

"What's so funny?" he asks telepathically.

"Don't you recognize it?" I ask back. He looks at the screen and nods.

"The meadow behind Abnegation" he says. "But what's so scary about that? I don't get it."

"Wait" I say smirking. And then we see it. The old oak with the dead man hanging there.

"The Hanging Man? The one you made up?" he asks and looks at me.

"Yup. How about that? I do scare the shit out of people" I say in my head but laugh aloud.

"Oops" I say and turn around to look at Monica, who seems to be oblivious to us.

"Don't worry, she can't hear us" Tobias assures me.

"Oh. Then why didn't we talk, you now, out loud."

"'Cause it's funnier our way" he says with a chuckle. We return our gaze to the screen and watch what is happening next. The Hanging Man comes to life or at least starts moving. He unties himself from the rope and falls to the ground. He stands up again and starts walking toward Monica. For some reason she is rooted in place and doesn't move, but I can see she is desperately trying to escape. Just as the Hanging Man gets closer, Monica closes her eyes and starts singing a song, a lullaby I figure. The image changes and Monica is on the Hancock building. I recognize what she's doing – zip lining. She must have gone with the Dauntless after Capture the Flag, just as I did last year. I see Uriah beckoning her to try it out too. Just as she starts sliding down the line something goes wrong and she falls out of the safety harness and keeps falling indefinitely. Her heart beat increased and she is desperately trying to get out of the sim. Just before she hits the ground the screen goes black and a new image appears. A man and a woman appear in front of her, both Candor. Monica runs toward them, I can tell she is happy to see them, but they look at her with angry expressions.

"Mom, dad" she says. Her parents.

"You betrayed us" her mother says.

"You betrayed our faction" her father says.

"Mom, dad please, I love you, but I just didn't fit in Candor. Please, forgive me for leaving" she pleads and starts crying.

"Faction before blood" they both say in unison. I wonder if this is really how they feel or if this is just an irrational fear of Monica's. I can't imagine any parent not loving his child anymore.

The image changes and Monica is on a roof with a handsome young man, Dauntless for sure. They talk and I don't really understand why she would be afraid. But then the man starts kissing her and touching her all over her body. It reminds me of the fear I have or had, fear of being intimate with Tobias. But that's in the past now.

"Please, Phil, I can't" she says.

"I thought you loved me" he says.

"I do, but I just can't. I'm not ready" she says and starts crying.

"Then maybe I should find someone who is" he says and looks up. A woman appears out of nowhere and this Phil goes toward her. He grabs her hand and they disappear together, leaving Monica all alone and crying her soul out.

The image changes again. Monica is walking through the Pit and is heading toward the stairs. Oh God! No. She is looking around, expecting to be assaulted any minute now. Just as she sighs in relief a dark figure grabs her from behind and throws her to the ground. She fights the person as best she can, but the attacker is taller and stronger.

"You know you want it" he says and I recognize his voice. Jeremy. I stroke a few keys and end the simulation. Tobias looks at me surprised and with a questioning look on his face.

"I can't. I can't let her go through this again" I say.

"You have to. She needs to fight her fears alone, just as anyone else" he argues.

"That's not true. Our fear might be our own, but we don't have to fight them alone."

"Tris, she needs to learn how to control her fears if she wants to make it."

"Maybe, but we both know what was coming next" I say a little angry at his lack of sensibility.

"No, we don't. She could have fought him off, for all we know. And more importantly, we don't know how many fears she has left" Tobias gets in my face, trying to be intimidating.

"Four, stop it. She went through enough" I say trying to get in his face, but being a foot shorter isn't really helping.

"Uhm, should I go?" we hear Monica ask.

"No, I'll go" Tobias says and leaves. What the hell just happened?

"Tris?" Monica asks.

"Yes?"

"I didn't mean to cause trouble between you and Four. I'm sorry" she says bashfully.

"Don't worry. We'll sort this out" I say looking toward the closed door.

"Tris? Why did you pull me out of the sim?" she asks and I turn to look at her.

"Because of what was about to happen" I say.

"Jeremy" she says in a low voice and looks at her feet.

"Yes. I didn't want to put you through this again" I say.

"It's okay. Thank you. But I need to work through this" she says as a few tears roll down her cheeks. I grab her arm gently and make her sit back down.

"Are you talking to someone? Stephanie maybe?" I ask. She looks up at me and tries to smile.

"Yeah. I go to her once a week or when I feel like I can't hold it in" she says. "It helps talking to her."

"Good. I'm glad. We could resume the simulation, if you feel strong enough" I say.

"Yeah, we could do that. I want to face my fears."

"That's good. One question and you can choose not to answer" I say.

"Alright."

"Who's the guy from your intimacy fear?"

"Phil" she says smiling shyly.

"Okay. I need a little more" I say with a chuckle.

"He is an Erudite-transfer. He transferred two years ago and we kind of started seeing each other after Capture the flag. We bumped into each other a few times before, but during the war games we were on the same team and got to know each other better" she tells me.

"You like him" I say. She blushes. "I'll take that as a yes. Listen, I saw your fear. It doesn't have to be like this in real life. To be honest, I had a similar fear, but it went away" I tell her and she looks up at me.

"You did? With Four?" she asks. "He is scary."

"Yeah, but it had nothing to do with that. Actually, even while he was just my instructor and we kept it professional until after the final rankings, he never was cruel or unfair. Yeah, he is intimidating, but my fear wasn't there necessarily because of him, but more because of my upbringing."

"Okay, makes sense. But there's still the issue of… you know… my history with the other guy" she says and looks even more sad than before.

"Monica, if you really like Phil and he likes you back, you should tell him. Maybe not on your first date, but honesty is key in a relationship, any relationship."

"I know, but what if he rejects me because of it?" she asks and starts crying.

"Then he doesn't really love you. Someone who loves you accepts you for you, with all the good and the bad. It wasn't your fault, so stop blaming yourself. You are a survivor. You are Dauntless" I say with a smile.

"Thanks, Tris" she says smiling back.

"Don't mention it. What are instructors for?" I say and she laughs lightly.

"Could we give it another try?" she asks.

"Sure. But only if you're up to it."

"I am." I prepare everything, serum and program, and inject her. One by one I watch every one of her fears unfold on the screen until we get to the one with Jeremy. I watch her as she fights as best she can, but simulation Jeremy is too strong for her and the screen goes black. I wait another minute but nothing happens. Seven. Monica has seven fears. I help her sit up and offer her a cup of water. After she calms down and doesn't shake anymore she sits back down on the simulation chair.

"You okay?" I ask her.

"Yeah. That was a bit much" she says breathing in and out heavily. She tries to calm down but I can tell it's still hard for her.

"We can stay here for another minute if you like" I tell her.

"No, please, let's go" she says and gets up.

"I need to finish in here, but you go. I suggest you go back to the dorm and rest. Tomorrow we'll start again" I tell her and her eyes widen.

"I have to do that again?" she asks alarmed. I chuckle. It's the same thing I asked Tobias last year after I finished my first sim.

"I'm afraid so, but these sims are meant to help you. Relax for now. And if you need someone to talk, other than Stephanie, you can come to me."

"Thank you, Tris" she says and surprises me by hugging me. We let go of each other and she leaves the simulation room. Just as I finish in there the door opens and Tobias comes back in.

"I'm sorry, Tobias. I should have listened to you. You've been an instructor for three years now and I'm a newbie. I'm sorry" I say.

"I'm sorry too. I overreacted."

"No, you didn't. You acted like a leader and instructor. It's our job to be hard on them, to prepare them. But when I saw what her fear was I panicked. I wanted to protect her from getting hurt again" I tell him.

"I know, but sometimes you need to fight it. I know you want to protect everyone around you, but sometimes you can't. Monica and the rest of them, as a matter of fact, need to learn to live with their fears and even control them. Someday their lives might depend on it."

"I know. She went through the fear landscape again" I tell him.

"I know. I've been watching" he says pointing at the camera in the left corner behind the chair.

"Oh. Did you see? Seven fears" I say admiringly.

"Yes. It's impressive. And she handled them alright. Could be better, but it was good for her first time."

"I felt so sorry for her when simulation Phil rejected her and then right after the incident with Jeremy plagued her" I say and sit on the simulation chair.

"I've noticed. You kept gasping and you wrapped your arms around your middle" he tells me.

"I did? I didn't even notice that."

"Yeah. Tris, I know that as a soon to be mother you want to protect the initiates, but they are old enough to do this" he says.

"What?" I ask standing up angry.

"Calm down."

"They are old enough to get raped?"

"That's not what I said. Calm down" he says coming closer.

"Don't touch me" I say and storm out. What the fuck?

"Tris" I hear him yell after me. "Wait." But I walk further. I hear him run after me. "Tris, please stop. That's not what I meant" he says, frustration clear in his voice. I stop and turn around abruptly, which makes him almost run into me.

"Explain."

"I didn't mean that they are old enough to be abused" he says in a more hushed tone. "I meant they are old enough to go through initiation. As for Monica, you know I'm sorry for what happened to her, but she is getting help, her attacker is behind bars, she is protected and she learns how to protect herself. But in order for her to make it here she needs to face her fears. We all do." I look at him and sigh.

"I know you are right, but I can't help it. She went through so much already."

"I know and she might go through more, but sometimes facing your fears is better than ignoring them. Take it from someone who knows what he is talking about" he says with a small smile.

"I'm sorry, honey. Let's go home. I had enough of this shit today." He chuckles and then pulls me into a hug.

"Let's go home, baby. I have a surprise for you" he says and I look up to study his face.

"What is it?" I ask.

"It's a surprise" he repeats.

"Come on. Tell me."

"You'll find out soon enough. Come on."

We walk up to our apartment and the smell of freshly made salami pizza hits me. I look at Tobias who smiles brightly.

"You made pizza?" I ask.

"Yeah, your favorite" he says. We walk into the kitchen and Tobias prepares two plates for us. "Wanna eat here or in the living room?"

"Let's eat at the island. I don't want tomato sauce on the carpet. I just cleaned it last week" I say and he chuckles.

"Okay. Want something to drink?"

"Some water is fine for now."

"Mind if I drink a beer?"

"Course not."

We eat our supper and discuss how the initiates did so far. We didn't really expect them to do too well, since it's their first time, but I'm still curious to see what will happen next. Most of them had pretty common fears – heights, insects, failing, confinement, water, fire, being buried alive, living factionless. But others had strange fears like being chased by zombies or having to eat too much cake or a certain meal. When Lauren told us about the Dauntless born who feared he had to eat too much cake, Uriah scoffed and said that eating cake is never too much. The kid is just a pansycake. When I asked Tobias what it means he just shrugged. Some fears are irrational, like my fear of crows. I'm not really afraid of them, just the idea of not being in control.

"Why don't you pick a movie for us to watch?" he asks getting up and gathering our dishes. I protest, but he just shakes his head. I sigh and walk into the living room. I look over our movie collection and find the movie based on the book I just finished reading. I ask Tobias if he is okay with it and he just nods. I decide to go upstairs and take a quick shower and get ready for bed. None of us wants to go out anymore tonight, might as well get ready for bed.

I make sure the water is at the right temperature and step inside. I let the warm spray hit my skin andfor a moment I just close my eyes enjoying this peaceful moment. I place both my hands on my still flat stomach and start rubbing soothing circles when a breeze of cold air hits my back. I open my eyes and turn around just in time to see Tobias come in.

"Mind if I join you?" he asks grinning.

"Not at all." Tobias wraps his arms around me and I lean my head against his chest. I love it when he holds me. I always feel safe and loved with him and I can't imagine how my life would be if he wasn't in it. He gently kisses my shoulder and I look up at him. His expression is soft, but serious. "What?"

"Tris, you need to be an instructor with the initiates. I know it's tough, especially when it comes to Monica, but you aren't helping them if you are too soft. I'm not telling you to be cruel to them, just don't let them get confused. You are their instructor and their leader. You can be their friend too, but they need to understand the difference between them and you."

"I thought this evening is just about us" I say just as serious. I mean it and even though I get where he's coming from, I really don't want to talk about the initiates right now.

"It is, but tomorrow you need to detach yourself from them. It's hard, believe me I know. Last year when I had to monitor you and I saw all the fears you faced, especially after Peter, Al and Drew attacked you, it hurt me more than anything to see you in pain" he tells me.

"Tobias, that was different. We were both falling in love with each other. How do you think I felt in your fear landscape? I could see how hard it was for you, from the first moment until the last. I tried to be strong and help you go through it as quickly as possible, but at the same time I wanted to stay there longer to get to know the real you better. But then we ended up in Abnegation and…" I stop. We both know what that means. I feel him nod and turn in his embrace so that we face each other. "I promise I'll do a better job tomorrow" I say.

"I'm sure you will, honey" he says and kisses my lips softly. I wrap my arms around his neck, keeping him in place and he pulls me closer to his body, leaving no room between us. Tobias picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist, while he presses me gently into the cool tile. His mouth travels from my lips to my neck, where he sucks lightly before he travels further south to my collar bone and stops in front of my heaving breasts. He takes my left nipple into his mouth and starts sucking on it, all the while his right hand caresses my body, keeping me secure with his left arm around me. I tangle my fingers in his short hair, tugging lightly every time he bites down gently on my hardened bud. Tobias switches breasts and I throw back my head, the pleasure I feel from just getting my nipples sucked and bitten almost makes me come. I moan loudly and feel Tobias smile against the skin of my chest. "What do you want, Tris?" he asks, his voice husky and aroused.

"You. I want you" I manage to say.

"How bad do you want me?" he asks, clearly getting a kink out of torturing me.

"Bad, really bad. Please, Tobias" I plead with him.

"Do you want us to go into the bedroom and continue?" he asks.

"No" I say a little forceful. "Just fuck me. Fuck me here" I say and look into his eyes. They reflect the same passion I am feeling right now and Tobias crashes his mouth over mine, battling with my tongue for dominance. He shifts his body slightly to get better access to my core. He pushes his right middle finger inside me to check if I'm ready and when he is satisfied that I am he grabs his cock and rubs the head against my slick entrance. When it's wet enough Tobias pushes his entire length deep into me and makes us both moan loudly. We stay like this, none of us moving or saying anything. I open my eyes to look into the adoring eyes of my soul mate. We smile at each other and lean in to kiss. The kiss is gentle and full of love, but it soon becomes more passionate and I feel him twitch inside of me. I smile and break the kiss and start peppering small kisses along his jaw and suck his left earlobe, while he starts moving inside me. The thrusts are deep and powerful, but they soon become shallow as he increases his pace ever so slightly. I feel myself nearing the all too familiar edge and wrap myself even more around my gorgeous husband as he keeps pounding me relentlessly.

"I'm close" he manages to breathe out.

"Me too. I'm coming" I say, but it comes out more as a shriek since the sensations are just so overwhelming.

"Come with me, baby" he says and as on cue I feel my walls clench around his still pounding cock and a wave of pure ecstasy wash over me, making me lose my mind for a moment. I cry out his name and feel myself falling apart. If it wouldn't be for Tobias I would fall to the ground, never to stand up again. He holds me close as he empties himself deep inside me, my name like a chant coming from his lips. He rests his head in the crook of my neck and I can feel him draw in much needed air. Tobias turns us around so that he is leaning against the wall and starts to slowly slide down the wall until he sits on the floor and me still in his lap and attached to him. I regain my bearings first and open my eyes. The warm spray of water hits my back, but it doesn't bother me. I caress his handsome face and he opens his eyes, a look of pure satisfaction in them.

"I love you, Tobias."

"I love you, too, Tris."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thoughts?


	86. Chapter 86

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey there initiates! I hope you missed me :) Here is a new YAMATW chapter for you. I posted another chapter in my drabble series, Moments we share, yesterday called No more home alone and the names of the FourTris twins are revealed. Check it out and let me know what you think.

86

The next few weeks since the first fear landscapes went by quicker than I thought. Tobias allowed me to do more alone giving me a chance to learn for the years to come. Even though it's hard at times I really do enjoy being an instructor. I will definitely return next year for the job.

We have two weeks left until initiation is over. The final test is freaking all the initiates out, but all of us instructors tried to assure them that it'll be fine. To our surprise most of them learned how to handle the sims and even those who still struggle aren't that bad.

Tobias allowed the initiates two days off, which basically means they have three days in total since Sunday was implicitly free. We decided to throw a typical Dauntless party and Christina and Shauna offered to organize everything. I'm very grateful for their help.

The faction received Dwayne as our fifth leader with open arms and I can tell he likes it. He hasn't changed a bit, he is still the same person, which is great. Some people let themselves be overcome by new found power and change drastically. But not Dwayne.

I'm seven weeks pregnant now and I'm more excited than ever. I lost some weight due to the constant vomiting. Whoever named the morning sickness this way must have been an idiot. It happens all day long and even at night sometimes. At first Tobias was freaked out and rushed me to the hospital, almost killing the staff on call when they dared to ask him to calm down. Only after I told him that I would divorce him if he doesn't stop yelling he seemed to calm down, but started muttering. Thankfully Addison was in that day and received us. She checked me and the baby and assured us we were both fine. Tobias was still unconvinced and asked a million questions. Addison smiled and answered each and every one of them. It's sweet that he cares so much, but sometimes I feel like kicking his dumb ass.

By now Tobias always carries around saltines or lemon drops, which calm the nausea. He even asked mom and Evelyn and Hanna and basically every woman in Dauntless who was ever pregnant for advice on what to cook for me. Whoever thought instructor or leader Four is intimidating hasn't seen soon to be daddy Four. But all these people only get glimpses of the crazy Four. I get the full load. We even fought a few times, our arguments ranging from him leaving the toilet seat up to him being insensitive; basically everything is his fault. After we both calm down he always apologizes although most of the time he is innocent, but since he read probably even more on pregnancy than I have he figured to just give in.

Yesterday we went for a check-up. Addison showed us our baby and explained what we saw (or didn't and what was currently going on in my womb). She explained that our baby's face becomes more defined this week, a tiny mouth hole, tongue, nostrils and ear indentations are visible. His or her eyes are wide open, but they don't have irises yet. Also, the umbilical cord is now visible. She explained how our baby is ¼ inch long, about the size of a mint drop and as heavy as an eyelash. It sounds tiny, but our baby grew approximately 10 000 times since conception. Crazy, huh? Tobias and I couldn't take our eyes off the monitor and like last time Addison printed a picture for us. Tobias even joked that at this rate we might need a photo album to document everything. So, I decided to just do that. I went to the bookstore in Dauntless and bought one just for the pregnancy.

I'm currently getting ready for the party. We decided to just show up for a while and then go up stairs to Uriah's and Marlene's apartment for a long overdue game of Candor or Dauntless. I look myself up and down in the mirror and stop my traveling gaze on my tummy. I'm not showing yet, but my little baby boy is in there, safe and sound. Tobias walks in and embraces me from behind, kissing my shoulder. The silky black satin knee-length cocktail dress makes me feel sexy and by the look Tobias is giving me he thinks so too.

"You look gorgeous" he says.

"Thank you" I say admiring him in the mirror. He is wearing black dress pants and a crimson shirt. "You don't look so bad yourself" I tell him and turn around in his arms. I press my body closer to his and he bends forward to kiss me softly.

"We should get going. The sooner we get to the party the sooner we can leave" he says, his eyes sparkling.

"We haven't even left the apartment yet" I say with a chuckle.

"Can you blame me if I want to stay in? I mean, look at you. You look beautiful. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep my hands off of you" he says grinning.

"Good thing I'm your wife and you don't have to" I say matching his grin.

"Damn, if we wouldn't be late already I would totally take you right now against this mirror" he says in a husky voice.

"Calm down there stallion" I say and laugh lightly.

"Oh, are we starting the sexual anecdotes early, Mrs. Eaton?" he asks smirking.

"Stop that. Come on, let's go and have some fun. Otherwise our friends won't let us hear the end of it, if we're late." I kiss his nose before stepping to the side and managing to escape his vice like embrace.

"You are no fun" he says pouting.

"Yeah?"

"I don't recall you saying that yesterday" I say and walk out in the hallway and toward the stairs.

We finally leave the apartment and head toward the club. The loud music is filling the halls and I can tell most of the Dauntless are either in or just outside the club. We manage to enter and go toward the booths where we know our friends are waiting for us. Upon seeing us they start cheering, although the loud music covers their noise. We sit down and actually manage to say hi to our friends.

About half hour after we arrive Lauren, who plays hostess tonight announces that for the next few hours the program will alternate between dance music and karaoke. Since we started with dancing a few songs were selected for karaoke.

"I won't keep you waiting for long" she says. "Our first song is called Candyman and will be performed by none other than our very own Tris" she says and the crowd starts cheering. What? I haven't signed up for this. I look around and the girls smirk at each other and at me.

"No way. I'm not doing this" I say.

"Come on, Tris" Christina says.

"Don't be a pansycake" Marlene says.

"You spend too much time with Uriah" I say and they all laugh.

"Let's go, Tris" Shauna says.

"I can't."

"Come on, it's not the first time you do this" Christina argues.

"Yeah, but what if I puke in the middle of the song?" I say thinking of my ever present morning sickness.

"Who cares? You are pregnant" Shauna says and they force me to get up. The cheers become louder and for a moment I look at Tobias who just shrugs. Some help. I realize that Christina, Marlene and Shauna shove me up the stage and stand each in front of a microphone.

"Am I to understand that you are my backup singers?" I ask with a chuckle.

"You betcha" Marlene says smiling. I nod and wait for the song to start. The girls sing the intro and I wonder when they learned the lyrics. I know they heard the song a few times when they came to visit, but still. It's a very old song.

"Tarzan and Jane were swinging on a vine, sipping from a bottle of vodka double wine"they sing.

"I met him out for dinner on a Friday night, he really got me working up an appetite. He had tattoos up and down his arm, there's nothing more dangerous than a boy with charm. He's a one stop shop makes the panties drop. He's a sweet talkin' sugar coated candy man" I sing and the girls repeat the last verse. I grab the microphone and start moving on stage. "He took me to the Spider club on Hollywood and Vine. We drank champagne and we danced all night. We shook the paparazzi for a big surprise. The gossip tonight will be tomorrow's headlines. He's a one stop shop makes my cherry pop. He's a sweet talkin' sugar coated candy man" I finish and the girls repeat the last verse again. While I get off stage and walk toward our booth the girls repeat the last few lines I just sang. I stop in front of Tobias who smiles widely and winks at me. He is already used to me singing for him, especially these old songs that are very sensual and filled with sexual innuendo.

"Well, by now I'm getting all bothered and hot, when he kissed my mouth he really hit the spot. He had lips like sugar cane, oh. Good things come for boys who wait."

"Tarzan and Jane were swinging on a vine, sipping from a bottle of vodka double wine" the girls sing. We finish the song and return to our booth while everyone in the club cheers and stomps their feet asking for another song.

I sit next to Tobias who wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close. When Tori and Dwayne finally join us I decide to just sit in Tobias' lap who is more than happy to have me there, if the bulge in his pants is any indication.

"God, I so want you right now" he says in my head.

"Stop it, honey. We are in public" I say back in my mind, taking a sip from my orange juice, since I'm not allowed any more alcohol. Tobias promised to reduce his alcohol intake during my pregnancy, although he isn't much of a drinker to begin with. I told him that a beer or two is fine, especially since I don't want him to feel left out in our group of friends. We love them and they love us but sometimes they can be really mean with all the teasing and neither Tobias nor I want to give them any more reasons to tease us.

"Four, you have one hot wife" says a guy who comes by our table.

"The hottest" Tobias says and I look at him and roll my eyes. "You can roll your eyes all you want. You have no idea how many guys I had to fight off when I went to the bathroom earlier. They all want to dance with you. But you are all mine. I'm not sharing you with anyone" he whispers in my ear.

"I don't think I know you" I say and stand up stretching out my hand.

"My name is Bruno. I used to work with Four in the control room. But he wasn't nearly as fun then as he is now. I'm blaming you for that" he says grinning.

"You can bet your ass she is the reason. Our Tris here cracked this sour puss and made a decent man out of him" Zeke says and Tobias glares at him.

"I was decent before" Tobias says in mock anger.

"No, shush honey, let the man speak. Zeke, you were saying how awesome I am" I say and they all laugh.

"Of course, when people praise you, you let them talk, but when they tease me you join them" he says pouting.

"Oh my freaking God" Bruno exclaims. "You are like a softy with your wifey" he says.

"Wanna see how soft I am in the ring?" Tobias asks, his Four face in place and Bruno backs away.

"Just kiddin', man" he says and leaves us. Once his gone we all burst out laughing.

"Guys, what do you say we leave this place and go to a real party?" Uriah asks. We all know what he means. We leave the club and head upstairs to Marlene's and Uriah's apartment. They let us in and we all find a place to sit in the living room. Since their apartment isn't so big, the guys let us girls sit on the couch and the love seat while they sit in front of it. I sit on the couch with Christina and Shauna, while Tori and Marlene sit on the love seat. Our significant others sit at our feet (where they belong ) while both Lynn and Vicky sit on the floor snuggled together. I'm really happy for them.

"Let's get started" Uriah says. "Zeke, Candor or Dauntless?"

"Really, bro?"

"I know, I know. I dare you to run to the Pit and kiss the first dude you see on the lips" Uriah says with a devils grin. All the guys decide to go watch and so do Marlene, Shauna and Christina. Tori, Lynn, Vicky and I stay behind.

"I haven't asked you, Tris. How was your appointment with your OBGYN?" Tori asks.

"Good. She explained us what is going on this week and what to expect the following weeks until my next appointment. Of course, Four asked her stupid, but she is a real sport, explained everything, even twice and reassured him several times that everything is fine. I swear, sometimes I just wanna kick his stupid ass for asking so many dumb questions" I say a little frustrated. I reach out and grab a banana and start peeling it.

"Tris, he loves you and wants what's best for you" Tori says smiling.

"I know, but sometimes he treats me like some freaking invalid who can't get herself to the bathroom. I know he means well, but it's just bugging me. And I know that my mood swings aren't really helping. Most of the times he apologizes even though it wasn't his fault to begin with."

"Do you tell him that?" Vicky asks.

"Of course not. What am I crazy?" I say and they laugh.

"I think you should tell him" Vicky says a little more serious.

"Maybe you're right" I say. Just then the others come back laughing loudly.

"That was awesome, girls. You really missed a lot" Christina says sitting down next to me.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"The first guy who walked by was Connor" Dwayne says and I can only imagine how that looked like.

"You should have seen his wife's face when Zeke suddenly kissed her husband" Will says and we all laugh.

"Did you guys explain?" Tori asks.

"Yeah" Tobias confirms.

"Okay" Zeke says after we all settle back into our seats. "My turn. Four, Candor or Dauntless?"

"Dauntless" Tobias answers.

"I dare you to French kiss Tris for five whole minutes while the rest of us watch" he says grinning.

"Really?" I ask him raising an eyebrow.

"We don't have to if you don't want" Tobias says looking up at me.

"Pansy…" Uriah starts saying but then Tobias and I glare at him at the same time.

"I don't know who is more intimidating, Four or Tris" Dwayne says jokingly.

"Tris" all the girls say.

"What? Why? I would have thought Four, 'cause he's a guy" Dwayne says looking around for someone to explain.

"My dear, Dwayne" Shauna says to him. "You see, while Four here is intimidating, he will never be as intimidating as Tris."

"How come?" Uriah asks.

"Can I say it?" Zeke asks her, his eyes sparkling. I'm curious too. Shauna nods.

"While Four is the leader boss, Tris is his boss" he says and the girls chuckle.

"I'm not his boss" I defend.

"Yeah, right" Zeke says teasingly. "It's okay. Shauna is my boss and every girl in this room is her guys boss. We all know it. Might as well man up to it."

"Whatever, bro" Uriah says dismissively.

"You were saying, Zeke" Dwayne urges him.

"Yeah, right. As I was saying. Tris is Four's boss, therefore she is more intimidating than him. But even more now since she is pregnant."

"How come?" Will asks.

"'Cause she is mama bear" the girls say in unison.

"Did you practice saying that?" I ask with a chuckle and everyone laughs.

We give in and start kissing. I now sit on his lap and he on the floor and feel heat rising in my cheeks. Everyone is watching us but the way his lips are moving with mine in perfect harmony makes me forget everything. We hear some of our friends talking and whistling. I try to enjoy the kiss as much as I can, but make sure not to let it escalate. This is neither the place nor the time for anything more. But then my stomach turns and I feel bile coming up. Just as I detach my lips from his Zeke says times up.

"Honey, I love you and I really enjoyed this. Don't take the next thing I do as a review of the kiss" I say and hurry into the bathroom. The moment I'm on my knees I start vomiting violently. I feel someone kneeling down behind me and know instantly that it is Tobias. He rubs my back and holds my forehead as a new wave of sickness washes over me making my entire body shudder and convulse. I can hear Shauna through the closed bathroom door ask if I'm alright and thankfully Tobias answers for me. He tells her I'm fine, I just need a minute. When I'm finally done I lean back against Tobias and he holds me tightly kissing my temple.

"It's a good thing this wasn't a review. I might have had to take some kissing classes" Tobias says trying to lighten my mood. I chuckle but my head started hurting and I stop immediately.

"Can we go home? I don't feel so well" I say in a hoarse voice. My throat burns and my back hurts and the nausea is still lurking like a fiend in the dark.

"Of course. Can you move?" he asks.

"I think so" I say and try to stand up. Somehow I manage to do that but I soon realize it will be impossible for me to walk. Tobias picks me up and carries me outside. I lean my head against his right shoulder, his right arm holding my back securely, while his left arm is under my knees.

"You okay?" Christina asks.

"She doesn't feel well" Tobias says. I close my eyes and try to concentrate on my breathing. "Zeke, could you help me?"

"Sure" I hear him answer, but then the voices start fading.

When I open my eyes again I blink a few times to adjust to the darkness in the room. I realize I'm in my bedroom. I look around to see Tobias, but he isn't here. I look at the watch to check the time and it says midnight. I hear some noises downstairs and decide to investigate. Tobias is probably eating something or drinking some water. I walk downstairs and find my dear hubby on the couch reading.

"What are you doing?" I ask, my voice raspy. He looks up from his book and smiles, before his expression turns serious.

"Tris, I love you, but you look awful" he says.

"Thanks for the compliment" I say sarcastic and sit down next to him. He immediately wraps his arm around me and I snuggle close into his side.

"I meant all this morning sickness is taking a toll on you. I read a little more about it" he says pointing at the book in his lap.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Are you feeling better?" he asks rubbing my arm and kissing my temple.

"Yeah, a little bit. I hate this. I can't wait for my second trimester" I say sighing and snuggling even closer.

"You want to eat something?"

"No, I'm fine. I know they say that I should eat for two, but right now I'm puking for twenty" I say and he chuckles.

"Wanna go to bed?" I only nod. He puts his book to the side and stands up. He gathers me in his arms and carries me upstairs. After he gently lays me down he runs back downstairs to turn off the lights and probably check the front door again. He is back a minute later and lays down next to me. I snuggle into his side once again and he holds me close kissing the top of my head every once in a while.

"Tobias?"

"Hm?"

"I need to pee."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I've decided that it's time for another wedding/pregnancy.
> 
> I would like you guys to vote your favorite couple to get either hitched or pregnant. For that I have three polls.
> 
> Wedding or pregnancy?
> 
> If you want a wedding, who's?
> 
> Christina and Will
> 
> Tori and Dwayne
> 
> Marlene and Uriah
> 
> Shauna and Zeke
> 
> Cara and Caleb
> 
> Vanessa and Jack
> 
> If you want a couple to have a baby, which couple?
> 
> Tori and Dwayne
> 
> Vanessa and Jack
> 
> Cara and Caleb
> 
> Marlene and Uriah
> 
> Christina and Will
> 
> Vote now!


	87. Chapter 87

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi there. i don't know if you've seen them, but I posted two new drabbles to Moments we share. Check them out.

87

Today we'll announce the final rankings. The initiates did great during the final test. Sam was present, like Jeanine was last year for my final test, but unlike last year there isn't an attack planned on Abnegation. At least I hope there's not. We've gathered the initiates in the cafeteria. Almost everyone is here to see how the newest members did, because they all got in, and what jobs are available this year. We have only seven interesting jobs – one ambassadorship, two jobs in accounting, three in the control room and one in the health system as a counselor. The rest are jobs in the cafeteria, guarding and fence worker.

"I'm glad to say that this year we have no cuts, except for the one you all know" Tobias starts saying and most of the crowd nods. "Before we reveal your ranking we, your leaders and instructors, want to congratulate you for your hard work and improvements over these past ten weeks. After the official rankings are announced you are expected in the large gathering room to receive a key to your apartment and a list of available jobs. Since today is Friday you can tell us your decision first thing Monday morning. Connor" Tobias says gesturing toward him and Connor takes a step forward so that the initiates can see him better "is as you know one of your leaders. You will look for him and tell him what you have decided. He will also be in charge from now on regarding your job assignments. To avoid any further delay here are your rankings" he says and the board shines brightly with each name next to a number, their respective ranking. I'm pleased to see that Monica came out forth. I look for her in the crowd and see her smiling widely. Just as she wants to come toward me someone, Phil I now recognize, turns her around and hugs her tightly. This reminds me of me and Tobias last year and I absentmindedly grab his hand in mine. He squeezes it tightly before kissing my temple.

I decide not interrupt to Monica and follow Tobias and my co-leaders out of the cafeteria and into the gathering room. The girls decided to throw a "Welcome to Dauntless" party for the newest initiates and obviously decorated the room. The traditional black is everywhere as well as the Dauntless flames. The cafeteria staff even baked cupcakes and made small flames out of frosting.

The party is a huge success and everyone is having one hell of a good time. I'm glad that I'm feeling well enough today to enjoy this. The morning sickness became a real pain in my butt; whenever I thought I was safe a wave of nausea hit me and I emptied my stomach wherever I could.

"Tris" I hear my name and turn around. Monica stands behind me smiling widely and I open my arms to hug her.

"Congratulations" I tell her.

"Thank you so much. I couldn't have done it without you" she says with tears in her eyes.

"Sure you could. You are Dauntless" I say and her smile widens, if that's even possible.

"You know what I mean" she says more serious. I know. I simply nod.

"So, I've seen Phil was there to congratulate you" I say and wiggle my eyebrows and she blushes.

"Yeah. He asked me out on a date. Can you believe that?" she asks.

"Of course, I can. You are sweet and pretty. He is lucky you said yes" I say and then realize she hasn't actually told me if she accepted his invitation. "You did say yes, right?"

"Yes" she says beaming. "We decided to go on a date after I settle in my new apartment" she tells me.

"That's great. You'll have to tell me all about it afterwards. I mean, if you like" I say.

"Of course. Now that I'm a member and you aren't my instructor anymore, I thought maybe we could be friends" she says and looks at me nervous.

"Of course we can be friends. As a matter of fact we are friends" I assure her and she grins.

"Cool" she says and turns around. Some of the initiates called her and she apologizes and leaves. I turn around to look for Tobias who is currently talking on the phone. Or at least he tries to. When our eyes meet he tilts his head toward the door and I follow him outside.

"Sorry, Jack. It was a little loud in there. What were you saying?" Tobias asks. Jack must tell him something important, otherwise he would have waited until the morning. I wonder what it is about. It can't be regarding the council. He would have called me or asked me on the phone. And I doubt Jack just called to invite us over for some fun double date night. It must be work related. But what is it about? I watch Tobias who nods and gives short answers, the occasional "yes-no" pattern interrupted by "I understand" or "are you sure?". I wait for him to hang up and tell me what this is all about. When he is finally done talking he says goodbye to Jack and looks at me. "We should go to my office" he says.

"Let's go home. I'm tired anyways and we can attend another party some other time" I say and he nods. "But you can go back if you wanna hang out with the guys" I tell him as we climb the stairs to our apartment.

"No, it's fine. We decided to hang out tomorrow and give you girls a much needed spa day" he says smiling at me.

"Wanna get rid of us girls the nice way, I see" I say teasingly.

"What? Of course not" he says and laughs. We reach the apartment and Tobias unlocks the door. He allows me to enter first and follows me closely. We decide to go out on the balcony since it's a nice, warm evening. We sit down on one of the lounge chairs, he is leaning against the chair's rest and I lean against his chest, while sitting between his long legs.

"So, what did Jack want?" I ask.

"There are some new developments in the murder case" he says. He doesn't have to say which one. Myra's.

"Have they found the killer?" I ask a little surprised.

"Not exactly. Since the second victim, the man, wasn't positively identified and no one came forth to claim the body, the coroner decided to keep the body in one of the freezers at the morgue. Jack just informed me that the male victim was identified" he says and I sit up and turn around to look at him.

"Really? Who was he?" I ask.

"Drake Albright, former Dauntless, made factionless after assaulting several Dauntless."

"Drake Albright? You mean the same Drake who is Edward's best buddy? The same we've been looking for weeks now?" I ask.

"The same."

"How was he identified?"

"After you asked Connor to investigate Drake he found a very thick file on him, including finger prints and a note that during Max's leadership he volunteered to go to Erudite and be tested. He was part of the war simulation development."

"But he wasn't Erudite" I say.

"No, he didn't develop the serum or program, but he did volunteer his brain to be tested and help Jeanine come up with a very powerful serum. Because of that he had to give a few samples – blood, urine, tissue. After Connor found that out he contacted Jack and Sam and coordinated with them."

"Okay, but this still doesn't explain how we came from Drake to the murder victim" I say frustrated that I don't get it.

"I was getting there. The coroner obviously submitted his report and analyzes to the main Erudite citizen database. The moment he did that the system red flagged the murder victim's blood sample. But a power failure in the system, due to the thunderstorm a few weeks ago erased all data from that particular day. So, by the time the coroner was able to re-enter everything a few weeks passed."

"Okay, I get it now. So, Drake is the male murder victim. What do you think this means?"

"I think Edward might be behind Drake's murder too. Until now we assumed Drake and Edward killed Myra and another factionless, but mom couldn't find anyone missing. Even those who don't really get along with the factionless community where accounted for. We couldn't find anyone missing, either in the factionless sector nor in the factions. This is the only explanation. And now we have forensic evidence to support it. Drake Albright was murdered and then burned to cover up his identity. The questions that remain are: did Edward really kill both of them and if yes why?"

"I guess we'll have to find Edward and find out. Do you think your father has something to do with this?" I ask and Tobias looks both angry and confused.

"I honestly don't know. I mean, he is capable of a lot of bad things, but murder? I don't know."

"Yeah, but I can't get it out of my head that he is somehow involved. Myra saw him meet with Drake and Edward. Why would he do that? Why did he pay them? What is his game?"

"I wish we could put him under truth serum and ask him" Tobias says sighing and leaning back.

"We can't. Unless we have evidence, I mean real evidence that he is involved in this at all, we can't just go around accusing him of things."

"When did you get so wise?" he asks with a smile.

"Well, between my dad trying to set a good example and being fair and your mom who is kind of a warrior queen when it comes to defend her ideals I realized I needed to find a balance."

"Nice speech" he says.

"Oh, shut up."

"C'mere" he says and I lean back against his chest, letting him embrace me. "Let's leave this issue for later. Monday morning sounds good" he says and I chuckle.

"Okay. What did you have in mind?"

"To be honest, lying here with you is just perfect. We haven't had a minute to ourselves ever since initiation started."

"Not to mention, since I got pregnant everyone seems to randomly drop by or call and give us advice" I say and play with his large hand.

"Yeah, I think we need to change the lock and our phone numbers" he says jokingly.

"Yeah. I wish they would stop. I mean it's sweet of them, but they are just too pushy. I want to enjoy this time, not have a headache every other day. Between our mothers constantly talking about their grandbaby and our friends, mostly the girls, trying to convince me to have a baby shower every other weekend I really feel overwhelmed at times."

"Did you tell them to stop?"

"A few times, actually. But you know them. Once they start they don't stop. Tobias?"

"Yeah?"

"I need a vacation from our friends and family" I say and he chuckles.

"Me too. How about we go away next weekend and don't tell anyone?"

"That'll be great. But we need to tell someone. And where would we go?"

"Well, we could tell Connor, because if we tell Dwayne he will tell Tori. We could go to our cabin in Amity" he suggests.

"Everyone already knows about that cabin" I say.

"Alright. I'll figure something out." We remain quiet after that. I keep thinking of what Tobias just told me, about the murders. Maybe Edward did kill both of them. Maybe he found out that Myra was snooping and killed her because of that. But why kill Drake? He was his partner in crime. Maybe Marcus is somehow involved in Drake's murder, even if involuntarily. What if Edward didn't want to share his earnings with Drake anymore? And what did they do for Marcus? Why pay those low-lives? For what?

I try to sit up, but Tobias holds me in place. I turn around to tell him to let me go, but I find him fast asleep. He must have been very tired. I lean back and just enjoy his warmth. I close my eyes and let my mind drift. When I open them again I find myself in my bedroom. At first I think I'm in one of my dreams again, but then Tobias walks in from the bathroom. He is wearing only his sweat pants.

"You're up" he says a little surprised.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"Almost midnight."

"Weren't we on the balcony?" I ask sitting up now.

"We were, but it was getting cold and I didn't want you to get sick, so I carried you upstairs" he says and slips into bed beside me.

"Thanks. Did you eat?"

"No, but I wasn't that hungry" he says and just then his stomach growls loudly. "Sounds like your stomach disagrees" I say with a chuckle.

"You wanna eat?"

"Yeah. I'm kind of hungry. But I just want some bananas and crackers" I tell him.

"Coming right up" he says and starts sliding out of bed again, but I crawl out first and hurry downstairs. "Hey" I hear him shout after me. "What's the rush?"

"I can do it myself, you don't have to bring me the food to bed" I say halfway down the stairs. I reach the kitchen and grab a banana. I peel it and by the time Tobias joins me I finish it.

"I know you can do it yourself" he says, walking around the kitchen and going to the fridge. He pulls out some ingredients and I figure he makes himself a sandwich. I eat another banana while he prepares his sandwich. "You sure you have enough with just that?" he asks before taking the first bite of his sandwich.

"Yeah, besides I can't eat anything without puking it out."

"Want some crackers?"

"Yes, please." He reaches up in the cupboard behind him and gets me my bag of crackers. He sets it in front of me and I start eating a few. "You need to leave them on a lower level, I can't reach that high" I say.

"I can give you the bag whenever you want" he says.

"Not in the middle of the night when you're asleep and I'm raiding the cupboard" I say and he raises an eyebrow.

"When did that happen?" he asks surprised.

"Almost every night" I say and eat another cracker.

"How come I didn't notice?"

"You were exhausted. I didn't want to wake you up" I say and push the bag out of my sight. I had enough.

"Babe, you can always wake me" he says and finishes his own food.

"At two a.m. in the morning? No way. You need your rest. It's not your fault I'm getting hungry in the middle of the night."

"Okay, then I'll just leave crackers and other snacks for you in your nightstand."

"No, don't do that. Leave them here in the kitchen. I don't want to wake you up." He makes a face that tells me he isn't pleased. "What?"

"I don't want you to walk around the apartment in the middle of the night" he says and when he sees my mood shift he quickly adds. "You might trip and fall." I sigh and close my eyes for a moment. When I open them I look straight into his beautiful dark blue ones.

"Honey, I've been doing this for a couple of weeks now. I always use a flashlight when I come downstairs and turn the lights here in the kitchen on."

"But…" he tries to protest, but I glare at him.

"No buts. Once I'm able to keep solid food down I will have a regular schedule and won't feel the need to eat during the night."

"Do you have any idea when that's going to be?" he asks leaning on the island on his elbows.

"I guess soon. I'm already eating less than a week ago and definitely less than two weeks ago. I have three weeks left until I hit the twelve week milestone." He looks at me and smiles widely. "What?" I ask confused.

"Can you believe that we're almost twelve weeks pregnant?"

"No" I say smiling back and rubbing my belly. Fatigue is finally catching up with me and I yawn.

"Come on, let's go to bed" he says and stretches out his hand for me to grab. We walk back into our bedroom and settle for the night.

The next morning I wake up alone in my bed. I look around trying to see if Tobias is in the bathroom. He isn't. I walk downstairs but he isn't here either. I wonder where he went. Just as I grab a banana the front door opens and Tobias walks inside with two large grocery bags.

"Morning, honey" he says and comes into the kitchen. He kisses my lips and then goes to unpack the bags.

"Morning to you. I see you went shopping."

"Yeah, we were running low on some stuff" he says as he fills the fridge with milk, cheese, vegetables and yogurt. He packs the meat into the freezer and the crackers into one of the lower cabinets. He also bought bananas, apples and orange juice to last us at least two weeks.

"Did you buy everything they had?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Almost" he says laughing. "Did you eat something?"

"Nope. I just woke up and came down looking for you" I say as I take a bite from my banana.

"Do you want me to make you breakfast? Do you feel like eating something?" he asks apprehensive.

"Maybe some cereals. I don't want to risk making a mess at the spa."

"So, you wanna go" he says.

"Yeah. I mean if the girls go I'll go too."

"Good. Zeke and Will told me they would call as soon as they wake up and Zeke will call Uriah. Dwayne texted me already that he is ready to go whenever I am."

"Go? Go where?" I ask.

"We decided to have a paintball fight" he says.

"What?" I say groaning.

"What?"

"I wanna do that too" I whine.

"You'll do it some other time. Today you'll just relax" he says and hugs me before placing a gentle kiss to my crown.

"This is so unfair" I mutter and his chest rumbles from his laughter. "Stop laughing. This ain't funny" I say and try to move away from him, but he only pulls me closer.

"Babe, you'll come with us some other time" he says.

"After the baby is born, maybe" I say pouting.

"Well, yeah. But I promise, after the baby is here I will personally organize one of the biggest paintball wars known here in Dauntless, just for you" he says grinning.

"Oh" I say smiling and cupping his face "my dear husband" I say and he smiles lovingly at me "you are so full of crap" I say and let go of him. "But I will remember your promise and here's my promise to you" I say and he looks at me seriously. "Until you keep yours you won't see any action from me" I say.

"You're kidding" he says, staring at me in disbelief. "You're seriously withholding sex until then?" he asks and then I realize what my threat sounded like.

"No. Of course not. If I wouldn't puke every half hour I would ride you non-stop. But as it is I would probably puke all over you."

"Then what's with the threat?" he asks raising an eyebrow and grabbing a banana for himself.

"I meant, after I give birth we won't be able to have sex for at least six to eight weeks. Now, I'm a reasonable woman and I would never threaten you like that. You are my dear hubby after all" I say wrapping my arms around his neck. "But, I want that paintball war. No excuses" I say pouting hard. Tobias chuckles and kisses the tip of my nose.

"Alright. If my baby wants war then war is what she'll get" he says and I smile at him. We kiss for a moment before his stomach growls.

"Sounds like someone's hungry" I say.

"I am. I was thinking of some eggs and bacon" he says and I feel my mouth watering. He turns around and starts making breakfast for both of us. He gives me the cereals and the milk and starts cooking his breakfast. By the time he sits down to eat I've only eaten three spoons of cereal. The delicious smell of his meal stopped me from eating my plain one. "Forgot the salt" Tobias says and gets up and walks to the counter. I look over his plate and without thinking I grab his fork and take a huge bite of eggs and bacon and bite of a big chunk of bread. The moment all these flavors combine in my mouth I let out a loud, content moan which makes Tobias turn around. "If you want some I can make you. You don't have to eat mine" he says laughing lightly.

"I'm sorry" I say, trying to swallow everything, but this proves to be difficult.

"It's okay. I would have made you some too, but you couldn't keep anything down lately" he says.

"Yeah. I just wanted a taste of it. But I don't want to risk getting sick. I mean I will regardless, but I still don't want to add to it. I'll just it my bowl of cereals."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." I keep glancing over his plate every once in a while, which makes Tobias sigh and push his plate in front of me. He walks without saying another word to the stove and makes himself some more eggs with bacon. Which I also attack later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Polls are still open. Which couple should get married and which should have a baby? And why.


	88. Chapter 88

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey there, initiates! It's Cloakseeker. Wow, so many new followers and favorites these past few weeks. I wanted to stop for a moment and say THANK YOU! i also wanted to thank you for your suggestions regarding who should get hitched and who should get pregnant. I haven't made up my mind, so if you still have suggestions - bring em on. 
> 
> I also wanted to tell you that for the past week I've been preparing for a major project. I will participate in this years NaNoWriMo with my very own original story. since the project starts in November I haven't written anything yet, except for a few general ideas and names for my characters. I will post the story on my blog, each chapter at a time. In case you want to read it I will give you a heads up sometime in November. I also decided that the story could easily be re-written into a FourTris fanfic, so maybe you'll read it hear too. I dunno yet.
> 
> For now, enjoy this new chapter of YAMATW!

88

We all met up in the Pit and the guys left together to the Navy Pier, where they will have their paintball war and us girls head to the spa. I decided to invite Monica as well to make her feel more welcome, but also because Phil joined our guys.

We walk together and chat idly about all kinds of things. When we get to the spa we divide into two groups. Shauna, Monica and I go for a mud bath, while Christina, Marlene and Lynn go to get massages. The room where we are lead to has three tubs. I take the one in the middle, while Shauna gets the one to my right and Monica the one to my left. For the first ten minutes we just lie there enjoying it, but then Shauna breaks the silence.

"How's the puking going?" she asks. I groan and open my eyes. I turn my head slightly to look at her.

"It's getting better. I only puke five times a day now, instead of a million" I say and both girls laugh.

"Yeah, I remember that part. But soon it'll be over. Soon the real fun starts."

"What fun?" Monica asks.

"Oh, newbie, soon our dear Tris will be horny like a teenage boy who just discovered how to lock the bathroom door" Shauna says grinning.

"Shauna" I scold.

"What? It's true. During my second trimester I fucked Zeke every chance I got. Sometimes while he was still asleep" Shauna says trying to keep a straight face, but I know her by now to know that she is exaggerating.

"Oh my God, Shauna, too much information" I say.

"Is that normal?" Monica asks.

"Yeah, although I doubt it's the same for everyone" I tell her and look at her.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. But don't worry, Four won't mind. This time will be the time of his life, getting laid four-five times a day. This is a fucking jackpot for every guy" Shauna explains.

"I doubt that" I say. I know I read something like that in the pregnancy books, but I doubt it'll be like she describes. Shauna, like Zeke, tends to exaggerate. A lot.

"Whatever, sister. You'll see. About two weeks after your horniness kicks in you won't be able to walk straight from all the…" she says but I interrupt her.

"Shauna!"

"You know I'm right. I remember your funny walk after your honeymoon" she says and Monica chuckles.

"Okay, that's enough. Can we please change the subject?" I ask.

"Sure."

"How's Hunter? I haven't seen him in ages."

"His with Hanna today. He grows so fast" Shauna beams. "He is now on a feeding schedule and doesn't wake us every other hour like he used to. I swear, he is just like Zeke. Sometimes he just cries for attention."

"He's a baby, I'm sure his mind isn't that evolved to think of ways to get your attention like that" I say rolling my eyes.

"I didn't say that. This is probably a Pedrad gene. I even asked Hanna. She said both her sons were like this."

"Are you looking forward to the baby, Tris?" Monica asks.

"Yeah, very much. Four and I decided to have a baby a little bit before the wedding" I tell them.

"Really?" Monica asks in disbelief. "I thought it just happened."

"No, we planned it."

"But aren't you too young?" Monica asks.

"Hey, I'm two years older than Tris and I was in the same initiate class as Four" Shauna says a little defensive.

"Monica, things here in Dauntless work differently than in other factions. There are many couples here that are engaged or already married even before they turn twenty. By the time they are twenty most of them already have a child or even two. I mean, look at me. I was elected leader when I was sixteen and there were others before me who were just as young when they became leader."

"Four was asked right after initiation to become a leader, but he refused. He didn't like our former leaders much and refused to work with them" Shauna adds.

"You see, Monica, it's irrelevant how old someone is around here. As long as it works no one complains. You shouldn't give a crap about what people say. There are always party poopers and people who try to bring you down. You need to find your own way and continue on it."

"You make that sound so easy" she says avoiding looking at me.

"It's as easy as you make it. Just relax for now and reflect on what you want to do with your life. Have you thought of what you want to do?"

"You mean what job I want?" she asks.

"Yeah. I know we said Monday, but did you think of it?" I ask.

"To be honest, I haven't."

"You came out forth" Shauna says. "Think of at least two options. And if you don't like your job, just talk to Tris here and she can get you a new one."

"Shauna, that's not that simple. Look, if for some reason you are unhappy with your choice we have this new system where you can look for other jobs. But Connor is in charge of that. He will explain everything to you" I tell her and she nods.

About an hour later one of the spa employees comes in and tells us our time is over. We get out and go into the next room, where the showers are. We all take a thorough shower to get rid of all the mud, which found its way into every one of my openings. God, I'll probably wash mud out of my body for at least another few days. Each of us uses one of the bathrobes provided by the spa and walk toward the massage room. To my delight I get Vicky who is extra careful with my belly. Even though I'm not showing much she makes sure she doesn't hurt me and puts a soft pillow under it.

"Oh my God, Vicky! This is divine. I had no idea I needed this massage until your talented hands touched me" I say moaning.

"Careful there, Tris. What if your hubby hears this?" Shauna asks teasingly.

"Shut up. A moment ago you said that only Darlene knows where to touch you" I counter and look at her.

"You can tell Zeke, for all I care. Maybe that dumbass takes a lesson or two and can give me a massage every once in a while at home" she says.

"Did you ever give him one?" Darlene asks.

"No. Why?" Shauna asks looking over her shoulder.

"Then how can you expect him to do it for you?" I ask.

"Are you giving Four massages?" she asks sarcastically, fully expecting me to say no.

"Yeah and he does the same for me. But neither one of us is a professional. We just rub the sore spots until…" I say but Shauna interrupts.

"Until you end up shagging."

"No. Until we feel better" I finish.

"So basically what I said" Shauna says and all the girls laugh.

By the time we're done getting massages all the girls meet up in a special designed room where we take our lunch. We eat grilled cheese sandwiches and a big slice of Dauntless cake each.

"We should do this more often" Christina says.

"Absolutely" Marlene agrees.

"How long have you guys been friends?" Monica asks.

"Lynn and I are friends since kindergarten and that's about the same amount of time I know Shauna, but she is two years older than us so for the majority of time she just ignored us" Marlene informs her.

"Tris and I met the day we chose Dauntless, on the train" Christina says and looks at me.

"Yeah, it was friendship at first sight" I say and they laugh.

"We slowly became closer after last year's failed attack on Abnegation" Shauna fills in.

"Hey, where's Tori?" I ask, suddenly realizing she isn't here.

"Oh, right. After you guys went in for your mud bath she stopped by and said something about a thing she had to do. She hasn't come back since" Christina says. I wonder what is going on. Maybe something happened and she had to go to her office. I pull out my phone to call her just as it starts ringing. Tobias. I get up and walk farther away from the group to have some privacy.

"Hey, babe. You having fun?" I ask him.

"Hey, baby. Yeah. It's great. My team is winning" he says proudly.

"Of course" I say and roll my eyes. "What's up?"

"Can't I call my beautiful wife just to say hi?" he asks.

"You can, but you usually don't. So? What's up?"

"I found a place for us to escape next weekend. You'll love it. Jack showed it to me and it's great. I took a few pictures. I'll show them to you when I get back. How's your day?"

"Relaxing. Thanks for suggesting it."

"You're welcome. I thought you needed a little spoiling."

"You spoil me a lot, Mr. Eaton" I whisper.

"That's because I love you, Mrs. Eaton."

"I love you too. Is it weird that even though I saw you just a few hours ago and I'm talking to you on the phone right now I miss you like crazy?"

"I know what you mean. Even though I have fun with the guys I miss having you around me. I'll be back before supper. I gotta go now. Love you, baby" he says.

"Love you, too. Beat some ass, Four" I say and he laughs.

"Will do. Bye."

"Bye." I return to my friends and we resume our talk. Just then Tori walks in with a huge smile on her face.

"What's up with you?" Shauna asks.

"Yeah, where have you been?" I ask her. She sits down between Shauna and me and smiles widely.

"The new bed was delivered today. That's why I couldn't be here earlier. The store said it would be delivered on Monday, but I got a call and they told me they got it today. Since Dwayne is out with the guys I had to go. Besides it's a surprise. We looked around for a new bed and he really liked this one, but he didn't want to buy it before."

"Why?" Marlene asks.

"That was before he was named leader. His income was smaller than mine and he didn't feel good about me paying for it. The other day we talked again about it and I asked him if he wanted to buy the bed now. When he agreed we went to the store but they already sold it. While Dwayne picked out a new couch I talked to the store manager and ordered the same bed. It's a surprise for Dwayne, so shush" she says and puts her right index finger over her lips.

"Don't worry" Shauna says.

"He'll love that" Marlene says.

"It's not as big as Four's and Tris', but it's still big" Tori says winking at me.

"Come on, it's not that big" I say.

"Girl, it's huge" Christina says.

"Why did you even buy such a big bed?" Lynn asks.

"I didn't want to at first, because of its size, but Four convinced me" I tell them.

"With hot, naked sex on it?" Lynn asks wiggling her eyebrows.

"No" I say a little loud. "He was actually very sweet. He said that if we have a big enough bed all our kids could sleep with mommy and daddy" I say and all the girls "aw" at that. "But if you repeat this to anyone I'll kick your asses."

"How sweet our Four is" Tori says.

"I never thought Four would be like this" Monica says. She only met instructor Four.

"He isn't like this with everyone, obviously" Shauna defends her friend. "Only with his wife."

"Well, he is this mushy with Tris, but he is a great guy if you get to know him better and get passed the glaring" Christina says and we all laugh.

"Okay, enough. Poor thing might hiccup from all the talk about him" I say and they laugh even harder.

"How are you getting along with your mother-in-law?" Shauna asks.

"Good, actually. We have the occasional fight, but only work related. She really tries very hard to be part of our lives and now the baby's. She and my mom constantly get together and talk baby stuff. It sickens me a little. Literally. The other day, mom made cookies that looked like little people and brought them over. Evelyn came too. They started talking baby stuff again and although I love them both the whole time they were there I hoped for them to just leave."

"Why didn't you ask them to leave?" Lynn asks.

"You can't. I even unleashed Four on them, but what scares the pants off of the bravest Dauntless around here just made them angry and they went both into mommy mode. Four looked at me and just fled the apartment. I mean, give him an army to fight – he's your guy. Make his mother and mother-in-law leave our place – he looks my way. I decided to eat a few cookies my mom brought over but thankfully they made me sick and I called Tobias to take care of me. We figured out that if I'm sick and moody from the pregnancy they don't really wanna be around. Not because they don't love me, but because I get bitchy."

"Playing the bitch card is one of your best cards when you're pregnant. Whenever my mom sensed I got bitchy she just left me alone. But otherwise she kept giving me advice and told me what to do. And the worst of all, she made Hanna join her. I mean, like you Tris, I love both my mom and Hanna, but sometimes they are just too much. Girls, when you get knocked up, remember the bitch card" Shauna says solemnly and we laugh.

"Don't mind if I do" Tori says surprising us all.

"No" Shauna exclaims.

"Don't tell me…" I trail off looking down to her belly.

"No, I'm not pregnant" she says smiling. "But who knows, maybe one of these days" she says.

"Are you planning on getting pregnant?" Marlene asks.

"Well, Dwayne and I talked about it. We both love each other very much and we can't imagine our lives without the other. So, yeah, a child would be the next step" Tori tells us.

"What about a wedding?" Christina asks.

"We both don't like the idea of a wedding, but we do wanna get married."

"Elope?" Marlene asks.

"Yeah. I mean we would have a party with our friends and family, but that's about it. It's not us and I don't want us to do something neither one of us is uncomfortable with" Tori explains.

"Makes sense" Shauna says. "Zeke and I have been talking about it too. Well we haven't really talked about it as in planning something, but we do see each other married and even have another kid."

"Sis, you just had one" Lynn says amused.

"Yeah, but even though taking care of Hunter is a lot of work, especially now since he is so small, we do want another child. It doesn't have to be now. We can wait a couple of years before we have a second one."

"I think that's great. Whatever you two decide I'm happy for you" I tell her and give her a sisterly hug.

"Thanks, Tris."

"What about you girls?" Tori asks the others.

"Well, Will and I have been dating for a year now and we are living together, but we haven't really talked about marriage and children" Christina says a little sad.

"Don't be upset" Tori says. "Enjoy the time you have together to the fullest. When the time is right for both of you it'll happen."

"Uri and I didn't really have the talk per se but he did drop hints that he sees us getting hitched and having babies someday."

"Well, I'm happy the way I am now" Lynn says.

"You and Vic never talked about making it more official?" Shauna asks her sister.

"No, we're good the way we are now. But we did talk about moving in together. We just haven't figured out where and when."

"What do you mean where? Either your place or hers" Christina says.

"Both our apartments are small" Lynn explains.

"We could look for a bigger apartment for the two of you" I suggest. "I mean, if you want to. If you do decide to move in and the space is your only problem, just call me and I'll check available apartments" I offer.

"I'll think of that" she says, but I can tell moving in with her girlfriend isn't really what she wants. At least not right now. Maybe she needs some time. Moving in with somebody means you share more than you originally thought with that other person. Sometimes it's a good thing, others it can ruin the relationship. Maybe they both need to figure out how they stand and if they want a long-term commitment.

"What next?" Marlene asks.

"Mani-pedi, hair and make-up" Christina says beaming. We all finish up our meal and enter the next room where an army of spa employees take care of us. We spend more than two hours there chatting idly about important and trivial things alike. Around four p.m. we decide to leave, but we don't really want to part, so I invite the girls to watch a chick flick at my apartment. Vicky joins us, since her shift is over and offers to make us some non-alcoholic cocktails when we get home. On the way up she asks me if I have several ingredients and she decides what to make us. I pull out my key and want to unlock the door, only to find it already unlocked. I tentatively open it and look inside.

"What is it?" Shauna asks.

"Someone's inside" I say apprehensive.

"What? Let me go first" she says.

"No, this is my apartment" I protest.

"And you are pregnant. I go first" she insists. She enters and takes a few steps inside. Just then we hear laughter from the balcony and Uriah walking across the room toward the balcony.

"Seems like the guys came home earlier" Shauna says. We all enter and I almost have a heart attack when I see the mess these dimwits left. And the worst part – my freshly cleaned living room carpet looks like some pigs fucked on it.

"Son of a bitch!" I yell, which catches everyone's attention. Tobias quickly enters the apartment and comes over to me.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asks concerned. I point toward the carpet and yell.

"Who did that?"

"Uhm…" Tobias stutters.

"Don't uhm me. Which one of you good for nothing, insensitive, paintball playing, Dauntless troglodytes did that to my freshly cleaned carpet?"

"I guess all of us" Uriah says in a joking manner, but I don't find this funny. I don't even know why I'm so upset. I mean, I know it's just a carpet and we can clean it anytime. But it just infuriates me to no end.

"Well then all of you will clean up this apartment or otherwise you will learn what the wrath of God means. Have I made myself clear?" I yell at them and look around. They look at me shocked, not scared like they would look at Tobias, but questioning my sanity. When no one answers I yell again. "I didn't hear you."

"Yes, ma'am" Dwayne, Zeke and Uriah answer all at once. I go and grab the movie I wanted to watch with the girls and head toward the door.

"Let's go, girls. The guys have some cleaning up to do."

"Where are you going?" Tobias asks.

"None of your business. Call me when my home looks like my home again, not like a playground for pigs." I walk out and the girls follow, Lynn being the last one slamming the door.

"I thought that would make a better exit" she says and the girls chuckle.

"We could watch the movie at my place" Tori suggests. I nod and we walk across the hall to her apartment.

We all get comfortable in her living room, while she makes popcorn. The girls look my way every once in a while and I know they wanna know what just happened.

"I don't know either" I say.

"Don't know what?" Christina asks.

"Why I snapped."

"I do" Shauna says and we look at her.

"You do?" Christina asks her.

"Mood swings. I had them all the time. You are almost in your second trimester, right?" she asks and I nod. "Don't worry. Sometimes they are worse than now. But this isn't you. And Four knows that too. And if he doesn't Zeke can bring him up to speed on the subject. He is an expert" she explains and the girls laugh. Shauna explains some more about the mood swings and I remember that I've read some of it too. I do feel guilty for snapping the way I did. I'll have to apologize to Tobias. And the rest of the guys. After the girls ask a few more questions about mood swings and pregnancy hormones we finally start the movie. It's called Bride Wars and Christina swears it's the best movie ever. Of course, she does. She loves everything related to weddings and girly things. The two hours we spend watching these two best friends fight over who will have the better wedding makes us laugh, cry, gasp and "aw". When the movie is finally over one by one the girls leave and I get up as well.

"Wait" Tori says and I turn around to look at her.

"Yeah?"

"Could we talk?" she asks.

"Sure." We sit back down in the living room and I wait for her to start. "What is it, Tori?" I ask her when she still keeps quiet.

"I wanted to ask you if you are okay" she says. I furrow my brows in confusion. Why wouldn't I be?

"Yeah, I am."

"Good" she says vaguely and keeps glancing at her phone. As on cue she gets a text and reads it. She smiles and looks up at me. "Thanks for the talk, Tris" she says and gets up.

"Uh, okay" I say awkwardly and walk toward the door. I say goodbye and leave her apartment. I walk across the hall and look for my key to unlock the door, but just as I want to put the key in the keyhole the door opens and I'm greeted by a huge bouquet of red roses. "What's this?" I ask with a chuckle.

"My apology" Tobias says and stretches out his hand. I lay my hand in his and he bends forward to kiss my knuckles. When he looks up a small smile grazes his face. "I'm sorry for earlier" he says.

"I'm sorry too" I say and step inside. I close and lock the door behind me and accept the flowers.

"No, it's my fault. I should have taken my shoes off and made the guys do the same. You do an awesome job keeping this place clean and I literally just stomped on it."

"Don't exaggerate. You help a lot. And I did overreact. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I yelled at you and our friends and I'm sorry I called you idiots" I say bashful.

"If I recall it right you called us good for nothing, insensitive, paintball playing, Dauntless troglodytes" he says with a chuckle.

"Yeah" I say and look away. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be. I mean you were mostly right. We were paintballing and we are Dauntless and we were very insensitive when we came in without cleaning our boots. And if I'm not wrong troglodyte is another word for caveman. And since I am your caveman and this whole compound is like a huge cave you were quite on topic with your assessment" he says with a laugh.

"Yeah, but you are good for some things" I say.

"Just some?" he asks taking me in his arms.

"Okay, a lot. Thank you for not getting mad. I think my hormones just kicked in and I lost it. Shauna warned me that this might happen a few more times" I say and wrap my arms around his neck. "I will just apologize now for every time I will be bitchy and insensitive. You are a wonderful man and I'm lucky to be your wife. I love you."

"I love you too" he says. He kisses me softly on the lips but doesn't deepen it. "Come on. I have a surprise for you" he says and leads me outside on the balcony.

"Oh my God, Tobias. This looks wonderful" I say taking in the romantic setting. "You didn't have to do this" I say looking at him. He just smiles.

"Yeah, I did. And not because of what happened earlier, but because you deserve it. But don't be too disappointed with our meal" he says shyly.

"I won't. I promise. I love your cooking."

"Here, sit down" he says holding out a chair and allowing me to sit down. "Dinner will be out momentarily." He walks inside and a minute later he returns with two full plates of pasta and meat balls. He sets one plate in front of me and the other on the other side of our table. He pours me some water and then does the same for himself and sits down.

"Thank you. This looks wonderful."

"I hope it's good. I didn't really have time to make anything better."

"It's perfect. Thank you so much." We eat our food and Tobias tells me about his day with the boys, while I tell him about my day with the girls. After we eat he brings out two huge slices of Dauntless cake and I hope I won't get sick from all the food and the wonderful dessert. I remember that he promised to show me the pictures of this place Jack recommended and he does so. He explains where it is and that he already made reservations for next weekend. He also talked to Dwayne and Connor to let them know we won't be reachable until Monday morning. I stand up and walk to where he sits and sit down on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. I kiss him passionately and soon find that I'm very aroused. Maybe Shauna was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sometime soon I will post a few new pictures on Pinterest in relation to this fanfic. I will also post a Tie-in from Tobias' POV regarding the fight scene. I hope you don't get to worked up because of it. All the girls who read this story might understand. I mean, I wasn't pregnant yet, but we all experience PMS so you catch the gist. If guys read this fanfic, trust me. We are freaking crazy on hormones (and that's not a secret :p). I might also write an M-rated Tie-in, a special dessert scene if you know what I mean. but no promises.
> 
> Reviews as always highly appreciated.
> 
> Love you all,
> 
> Cloakseeker.


	89. Chapter 89

90

Several weeks have passed since initiation is over. I am now half way through my pregnancy and am on my way to my twenty weeks check-up at the hospital. Tobias is driving the car, impatiently like every month. Two weeks ago I felt the first flutter and immediately called Addison. She told me that soon I will start feeling kicks and shouldn't get worried about it.

"You nervous?" Tobias asks glancing my way.

"No" I say looking at him.

"You keep rubbing your belly" he says.

"So? I do that all the time. Huh" I exclaim when the baby kicks.

"What?" Tobias asks alerted.

"Calm down, Tobias. If you freak out now I don't want to know what you'll do when I'm actually having the baby" I say.

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried" he says glancing my way before returning his gaze to the road.

"The baby just kicked" I say and grab his right hand and place it over my belly where I felt the baby move.

"I can't feel anything" he says with a frown.

"Give it a second" I say and just then another little kick. I look at Tobias and his face lightens up.

"Does it hurt?" he asks rubbing my swollen abdomen.

"No. It's just a strange sensation like the one you get from indigestion." He chuckles. We soon arrive at the hospital and Tobias parks the car. We reach Addison's office and the nurse in charge lets us inside. I change into the all too familiar paper gown and sit on the examination table. Tobias sits on the stool right next to me and holds my hand in his, kissing it every once in a while.

"Hello Tris, hello Four" Addison says coming in.

"Hi, Addison" I say smiling.

"Hello" Tobias greets.

"So, Tris, twenty weeks, you're half way through. How do you feel?" she asks sitting down.

"Excited, nervous, impatient and a bunch of other feelings I can't put my finger on" I say.

"I understand. Any complaints? Morning sickness? Aches? Spotting?" she asks her usual questions.

"Morning sickness almost irrelevant. I get sick maybe once every two weeks and that only happens when I eat too quick and too much. My back and feet hurt, but Four is giving me massages. No spotting, thank God."

"Good. Today we'll be able to find out what you are having. Have you two decided if you want to know the baby's gender?" she asks.

"Yes" we both say excited.

"Alright. Then let's get started." She takes out the wand and prepares it while I pull my gown up exposing my stomach. Like many times before Tobias leans forward and kisses my belly and whispers a sweet "I love you, baby". It always makes my heart swell and brings tears to my eyes. Addison is already used to this and just smiles. When the cold wand hits my skin I shudder for a second before my attention is captured by the loud, steady heartbeat of my baby. I look at the screen, already familiar with what I'm seeing and see the form of my baby. "Everything looks fine so far, but it seems your little bundle of joy is a bundle of mischief" she says with a chuckle. We look at the screen and Baby Eaton is showing off his or her little butt. Tobias laughs lightly and squeezes my hand gently. "How about I tell you guys what to expect this week and a few additional facts? Maybe the baby will turn around and we will be able to see what the two of you are having."

"Sounds good" I say.

"Your baby is about the size of a banana; as far as I can see the baby is 6.50 inches long and weighs about ten ounces."

"It's still so small" Tobias says.

"Yes, but that's normal. The baby will still grow. Don't worry. Interesting fact: your baby has already established a sleep pattern. Many babies have favorite napping positions. Some snooze with their chins resting on their chests, while others nap with their head flung back. Many babies also fall into a sleep routine, so you might know even before the baby is born if you'll have a night owl or an early bird" she says and we both smile. She also tells us that by now the baby's genitals are developed and if our little mischief decides to turn around we will know for sure what we're having, although Tobias and I think it's the baby boy I'm dreaming of. Addison continues talking about stretch marks and how to make sure they don't remain permanently on my skin, but to be honest I don't care. They are like scars a warrior receives in battle. I am proud that I'm pregnant, that I'm having this child, Tobias' child. I don't care if there are marks left on my body. I would take on an entire army for my baby. Addison tries to get a glimpse of the baby's gender again. Thankfully during her speech the baby shifted and is now facing us. "You sure you wanna know?" she asks. We both nod. "Congratulations, you're having a boy" she says. I feel tears stream down my cheeks. I knew it. I knew I would have a baby boy, but it's still nice to hear it from a doctor. Addison prints us the sonogram picture and writes me a new prescription for my pre-natal vitamins. We thank her and say goodbye. Tobias takes my hand in his and smiles widely. It warms my heart to see him this happy and it makes me happy that I contributed to his happiness. We walk to our car and before I can open the door Tobias turns me around, wraps his arms around me and kisses me fiercely. When we part we are both breathless and smiling at each other.

"What was that for?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Because I love you and I'm happy" he says.

"I love you, too" I say and kiss his lips gently.

"We're having a boy" Tobias says beaming.

"Yes, we are. But we kind of knew that" I say and he nods.

"I can't wait for him to be here" he says.

"Me neither. Come on. Let's go home. I'm cold" I say and he hugs me one more time before opening the car door. I get in and buckle up and Tobias does the same. As soon as the engine starts the car starts warming up, which I'm thankful for. It's cold outside and all I want is to go home and snuggle into my warm bed. Or at least the couch.

"Did you decide what you'll wear for the Halloween party?" Tobias asks after a while.

"Something comfy" I say. "You?"

"I'll choose a matching look with yours" he says with a grin.

"Ha ha" I laugh.

"What? I want to be comfy too" he says.

"Yeah, but I'm pregnant" I say.

"Come on. Don't be mean. We can choose a partner look" he says hopeful.

"Okay. I guess I can allow that" I say sighing dramatically.

"Why thank you, Mrs. Eaton. That's so kind of you" he says.

"Shut up" I say punching his arm lightly.

"Alright. Stop hitting me."

"Shut up" I say again smiling.

"You're kind of bossy" he says smirking.

"No. I am the boss. Now get us home. I'm famished. And I still have stuff to do."

"Don't you want to start your maternity leave early?" he asks and I look at him surprised.

"No. I can still work. I want to work for as long as I can. If walking up and down the stairs becomes too much I can set up an office in one of the spare rooms. As a matter of fact, I could work from home even after the baby comes. I wouldn't put in the same amount of hours like now, but I would still be in touch. What do you say?" I ask him.

"Tris, it's your decision" he says.

"No, it's our decision. This is your baby too. And yeah, I will stay at home until the baby is old enough for daycare. But I don't want to abandon my leader duties. I thought long about it and the best solution I could come up with is to set up a home office. That way I can be a mom and still perform my duties."

"You know I would prefer you to relax and not worry about the faction. Between Tori, Dwayne, Connor and me the faction is in good hands. Connor will take over for you on the council once it's too much, so you don't have to worry about anything" he says.

"It's not that I'm worried. I just want to be and feel useful. I don't want to be holed up in our apartment and fall into a depression" I tell him.

"You think you might get depressed?" he asks apprehensive.

"It's a risk. I've been reading about it a lot lately. Post-natal stress can cause severe depression. I've been talking to Stephanie about it and she told me whenever I feel like it's too much I should give her a call" I say.

"You know you can talk to me too" he says glancing my way.

"Of course I know. But sometimes a woman understands these things better. And I thought of calling mom or Evelyn, but I think having a professional to talk to should be better than our moms."

"Whatever you think it's best for you. But don't hesitate to tell me if something's wrong. And don't worry, I'll help you with the baby and the housework and everything you need."

"I know, baby. You're the best" I say and lean toward him to place a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I try" he says cocky.

We soon reach the compound and he parks the car. We get out and head home. Originally we wanted to eat in the cafeteria, but I'm cold and I wanna snuggle on my couch. Yesterday I made some pumpkin crème soup with croutons and we still have some left over. Tobias holds my hand in his, steadying me while I climb the stairs. Even though I can walk on my own the more time passes the more protective he gets. I let him since it makes him feel better. Once we are inside our warm apartment I take my jacket and boots off and slip into my fluffy house boots. I walk to the couch and sit down, crossing my legs underneath me and pull the warm blanket over me.

"You want some soup?" Tobias asks.

"Yes, please" I say. He goes into the kitchen warming up some soup for the both of us while I text Christina and apologize to our friends. I tell them that we want to see them tonight, either in the cafeteria or they should stop by later. She immediately texts back asking me if I'm alright. I tell her I'm fine, just tired.

"It's hot" Tobias says placing the two soup mugs on our coffee table.

"Thank you" I say and kiss his cheek. I lift the blanket and he immediately wraps his arms around me.

"This is nice" he says into my hair.

"Yeah, it is. Twenty weeks. Can you imagine? In just another twenty our little boy will be here" I say smiling.

"Yeah. It seems crazy. On one hand I think time flies by, but then the anticipation is killing me and I want him to be here already."

"I know what you mean. But we still have to wait a while longer. He needs to grow some more" I say rubbing my belly underneath the blanket. I feel Tobias placing his large palm over my stomach and keeping it there. It's warm and comforting and I love that we share this little miracle.

"Wanna call our parents?" he asks.

"Sure." I dial my parents' number and wait for them to pick up.

"Hello?" I hear my mom answer.

"Hi, mom."

"Hello, Beatrice. How are you?" she asks.

"I'm fine, we all are. Listen, Tobias and I have some news. Is dad around?" I ask.

"Your father is in a meeting with the council. Did something happen?" mom asks concerned.

"No. Nothing bad. Mom, could you hold on. I'll try to reach dad and Evelyn."

"Sure." I press the hold button and stop for a moment thinking of who to call next. I decide to call Evelyn. I dial her number and put the phone on loud speaker this time. After the second ring Evelyn picks up.

"Hi, Tris" she says.

"Hi, Evelyn" I say and Tobias greets his mother too.

"What's up, kids?" she asks cheerful.

"We have some news we want to share with you. Mom is on hold and I'll try to reach dad. Could you hold until I can reach him?" I ask and she agrees. I dial dad's number and wait for him to pick up. When he doesn't pick up even after the fifth ring I'm about to hang up, but then he answers.

"Hello, Beatrice" he says and I smile.

"Hi, dad. Tobias and I have some news for you. Can you talk?" I ask him.

"Only briefly. Is something wrong?" dad asks concerned.

"No. Hang on. I have mom and Evelyn on hold. Let me put them on" I say and make sure everyone hears me.

"Tris and I had a doctor's appointment today" Tobias says beaming.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Evelyn asks accusingly.

"Because today's appointment was very important and we didn't want you to freak out" he explains.

"Who's freaking out?" Evelyn asks and I can vividly imagine the scowl on her face.

"Today I'm twenty weeks pregnant" I tell them.

"Oh my God. I can't believe you are so far along already" mom says happy.

"Yeah, us neither" I confirm.

"Anyway, today Tris and I found out what we'll have. And we wanted to share this information with you guys before we tell anyone else."

"Thank you, son" my dad says.

"Stop stalling. What will our first grandbaby be?" Evelyn asks anxiously.

"Together?" I ask Tobias and he nods. I count down on my fingers from three and together we say loud and proud "It's a boy!"

Our parents shout out loud and start congratulating us and talk one over the other so that we don't really understand who is saying what. But I don't care. They are happy. Happy for us. Happy for the baby. We might not be the perfect family, but we are family regardless. And tonight the rest of our family will hear the good news too. We hang up only after we promise to stop by and visit them sometime this week or meet on Saturday for lunch.

"That was loud" Tobias says chuckling.

"Yeah. Can we eat now?" I ask and he laughs.

We eat our supper mostly in silence. After we're done Tobias cleans up while I lie down on the couch. It was my intention to just lie there but the warm soup and the familiar fatigue caused by the pregnancy made me fall asleep. I wake up later and find the apartment deserted and dark. I sit up and turn on the light on the end table. I rub my eyes and look around and try to hear if Tobias is upstairs. When I turn my gaze to the coffee table I find a not written in Tobias' handwriting. I pick it up and read the few lines.

Six, I let you sleep on the couch, because I didn't want to wake you up. Had to go back to the office. Have my phone with me. Call me when you wake up. Love you, Four.

I smile and pick up my phone that was right next to the note. I dial Tobias' number and he immediately picks up.

"Hey, sweetheart."

"Hey" I say.

"Did you have a good nap?" he asks and I can hear the smile in his voice.

"Yeah, but you shouldn't have let me sleep. I had some paperwork to go over" I say, trying to sound pissed, but I'm actually glad he let me sleep.

"Paperwork can wait."

"If you say so" I say and I hear him choke.

"Did you just agree with me?" he asks sounding disbelieving.

"Yeah."

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my wife?" he asks in a serious tone, but I can tell he is messing with me.

"Oh, shut up, Tobias. I agree with you a lot. Especially, when it comes to the baby."

"You are right. How are you feeling?"

"Good. Why are you asking?"

"Because (a) I love you and I care for your well-being and (b) I thought of inviting our friends to our place and give them our news."

"Oh, right. We haven't told them yet. Yeah, sure. Do that. When do you think you'll be home?" I ask.

"I just have to put some files away and then I'm on my way home. Do you want me to bring you something?"

"Uhm, chocolate" I say.

"You got it."

"And oranges" I add.

"No problem."

"And cheese" I count down on my fingers.

"Okay."

"And fish."

"Do you want some pickles too?" he asks.

"No. I'm over them. But you could bring some of Hana's chilly sauce."

"Uhm, okay. I'll have to call her and ask for some" he says.

"Great. Love you. You are the best."

"I love you too. I'll be home soon."

We hang up and I go to the kitchen to get myself some water. I drink about three glasses before I'm finally sated and turn on the lights downstairs. I take out a few cookies and crackers and put them on two different plates in case our guests want some. Just as I walk into the living room the front door opens and Tobias comes in. He goes straight to the kitchen and deposits the groceries bag on the island.

"Hey" I say and wrap my arms around his waist, resting my head on his back. He places his right palm over my hand.

"Hey" he softly says. "I called Zeke and told him to tell everyone to meet us here in twenty minutes. That okay?"

"Yeah. Did you bring me that chilly sauce?" I ask letting go of him and starting to rummage through the bag.

"Yeah. What do you need it for?" he asks curiously.

"Eating" I say. He rolls his eyes.

"I gathered that much. But with what?" he asks. The cravings I had freaked him out at first. Chocolate with pickles, mushroom crème soup with bananas, fish with apples. I have to admit, not the tastiest combinations, but the baby craved that so I ate it. And surprisingly, I didn't puke once.

"Oranges" I answer matter-of-factly. He makes a disgusted face but doesn't say anything. He hands me both the chilly sauce bottle and a couple of oranges. While I peel my orange he puts the food away. "Could you hand me one of the small bowls?" I ask and he turns around putting one in front of me.

"You sure about that?" he asks tilting his head toward the oranges and the sauce.

"Yeah." I sit at the island and eat my chilly orange while Tobias stands across from me trying hard not to vomit. I chuckle at the sight of his face and he gives me a quizzical look. "I know you think this is disgusting but it's actually very yummy. Wanna try?" I ask and he frowns.

"No, thanks." I laugh a little and turn back to my food. A knock on the door announces the arrival of our friends. Tobias walks to the front door, probably relieved he doesn't have to look at me anymore and greets our friends. Instead of going into the living room they all come into the kitchen where I'm still devouring my delicious chilly orange combo.

"What in the name of God are you eating?" Uriah asks, making the same disgusted face as Tobias.

"Oranges with your mom's chilly sauce" I say and put some more into my mouth. Some of my friends chuckle, but most just make disgusted noises. "What? It's actually very good. You should try."

"No, thanks, we trust you" Will says.

"Did you call us here to show us how your wife can hold that disgusting thing down?" Zeke asks.

"No. I called you here because Tris and I have some news. Tris?" he asks looking at me.

"Oh, right. Baby, could you give me some chocolate? I think chocolate would make this better" I say.

"Not eating that would make it better" I hear Uriah mutter.

"HEY" I shout and startle him. "My baby wants this, so shut up" I yell at him. The girls burst out laughing.

"Relax, Tris" he says raising his hands to his chest.

"So, what did you guys want to share with us?" Tori asks. Tobias stands across from me and extends his right hand. I put my left hand in his and he squeezes it gently.

"Today Tris and I went to her twenty weeks check-up. For those of you who don't know, at twenty weeks we can see the baby's gender" Tobias starts saying and looks around.

"And?" we hear Marlene ask.

"Together?" Tobias asks me and I nod.

"It's a boy!" we say out loud and just as our parents our friends burst into a million questions and congratulations. They hug us and shake our hands and tell us how happy they are.

"This needs celebrating" Dwayne says.

"Absolutely" Zeke agrees. "The gang will have another guy."

"What if he likes to play with dolls?" Vicky asks.

"Doesn't matter" Tobias says smiling. "We love him nevertheless."

"That's right" I agree.

The guys wanted to convince Tobias to go down to the bar to have a few drinks; Tobias refused. But since we had some alcohol at home our friends just stayed with us for a while celebrating Baby Boy Eaton. We should really look for a name soon. The girls started talking baby shower again. I guess it's futile now to resist. We always put them off by telling them we didn't even know the gender, but now that we do there's no reason for them not to throw the party. We agree that the party shouldn't happen earlier than January. With Halloween and Thanksgiving quickly approaching, not to mention the Christmas holidays and the end of year leader meeting, we all have a lot to do. They were a little upset, but I told them I wanted to get the nursery ready and buy a few things myself, like a few clothing items, baby's first bottle and pacifier, the bassinet and stroller. Those are a few things I want to buy myself together with my husband. After that the girls could make a list with what is still necessary and tell whoever they invite. But I made them promise not to invite the entire faction, only close friends and family. I made Christina swear she would show me the guest list before actually inviting people.

By nine p.m. our friends leave our apartment allowing us to have a little time to ourselves. Tobias and I sit on the couch and talk about, what else, the baby.

"Have you decided on a color for the nursery?" he asks. We've decided a while back to paint the nursery in a gender neutral color, but no black. There's a lot of black here in Dauntless.

"I was thinking soft yellow or green. What do you think?" I ask him.

"Could work. I need to see a few samples. I'll talk to the painters here and ask their opinion, but I want to paint the nursery" he says.

"I wanna help" I say.

"Baby, the paint is toxic" he says with furrowed eyebrows.

"I can wear a mask" I say, but he gives me a Four-glare, like the one he uses on the initiates. "Alright. But after it's painted I will help" I say sternly.

"That's fine with me. When do you want to start setting everything up?"

"Well, this weekend we need to meet with our parents. How about next week? We could start by looking for furniture. That way we can decide on the final shade the room will get" I say.

"Sounds good. Could you make a list with all we need?"

"Sure. And in case we forget to buy some stuff I'm sure the girls will remember and we'll get it at the baby shower. By the way, do you want to be there for the baby shower?" I ask him. I would love to have him with me. The party is for the baby and he is the baby's father.

"Do you want me there?" he asks tentative.

"To be honest, yes. This is your baby as much as mine. But I thought maybe you don't want to be there for all that girl stuff" I say knowing that most guys don't like these kind of things.

"Well, then I'll be there" he says.

"You don't have to if you don't want that" I say, reassuring him.

"Tris, I would love to be there. I wasn't sure if you would want that. This is usually a girl thing" he says.

"I know, that's why I thought you didn't want to be there."

"I want to be there, for you and the baby."

"Okay. I will talk with the girls to invite the guys as well." He nods and kisses my cheek.


	90. Chapter 90

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi my dear initiates! I'm sorry for being AWOL these past couple of weeks. I know some of you hate me right now. But I have a good reason, actually a few. Next Thursday and Friday my firm has this big event and everyone in the office worked double to make sure things are ready. Also, I got a little overwhelmed and needed to unwind. In November I'll participate in the NaNoWriMo project with my own original novel. I've been thinking about it and tried to put a plan together. For those of you who don't know what I mean NaNoWriMo is the National Novel Writing Month that takes place every year in November. You can plan all year long but you only write in November.
> 
> I'll try to keep up with the updates but I've told you guys before, I'd rather have you go berserk and be pissed for a while then post just for the sake of posting. Those of you who write know what I mean. Sometimes you get overwhelmed with ideas and sometimes your muse just fucks you over.
> 
> Last week I tried to get my shit together but as I was sitting in front of my computer with a blank page in front of me I realized I can't force it. That'll mean drop in quality and I also don't want to post 1000 words chapter just for the sake of it. I mean, I want to get to at least 3000 or more words. I owe you that.

90

We still don't know where Edward is hiding. It almost seems like he was swallowed by the city. Somebody must have helped him before and might still do it now. I can't shake the feeling that that someone is Marcus Eaton. However, I don't have any proof so I can't go around accusing him. I've been reading the files on Edward and Drake over and over again. I also read Myra's book hoping I might find a clue, but so far everything seems futile.

I'm currently sitting in my office talking to Connor about the upcoming Halloween party. Nothing too serious since the girls offered to organize everything like last year. I think Christina loves it so much she would do it for free, but Tobias and I decided to reward her with a point bonus for her hard and good work. Connor and I just go over the final details, which translates in money spend.

„You excited about the party" he asks me.

„Yeah, I am actually. It's nice to just let go of everything and enjoy my time with my friends" I say smiling.

„Yeah. And next year you'll go Trick or Treating with the little one" he says with a chuckle.

„I haven't even thought of that" I say leaning back into my chair. A knock on my door announces a visitor. „Come in" I say. The door opens and to my delight it's my dear husband. „Oh, what a surprise. What have I done to deserve such an honor?" I ask teasingly. Tobias rolls his eyes and steps closer to my desk. Connor extends his hand and the two men shake hands.

„Hello, Connor" Tobias says and walks over to place a soft kiss on my forehead. „Hey, my adorable wife" he says.

„Should I go?" Connor asks with a chuckle.

„Yes" Tobias says smirking.

„No" I say. I look at Tobias with a questioning look.

„No, don't go. I just wanted to mess with Tris" he says. I punch him lightly in the rib and he pretends to be hurt. „Ow."

„Oh, shut up, Four"I say and smile.

„So, what have you two been doing here?" he asks looking over the paperwork. When he sees the balance to our finances he grimaces.

„What? We haven't spend that much" I say not understanding why he would be upset.

„No, it's not that, babe. It's, ugh, I hate these end of year balances."

„Me too, but with some help from Erudite we have now a better accounting program" Connor says.

„Still. You and your wife coming to the party later?" Tobias asks.

„Yeah. First we'll go with the kids Trick or Treating and then we'll leave them with my mother and join you."

„Are you coming in costumes or casual?" I ask.

„Costumes. What about you guys?" Connor asks us.

„Semi-costume" Tobias says and Connor raises his eyebrows in confusion.

„Means we'll be wearing comfy clothes, since I'm pregnant and he shows his support" I say rolling my eyes.

„Well, I'm a supportive guy" Tobias says and Connor laughs lightly.

„Okay. I should get going" he says. „See you later, guys." Connor leaves me and Tobias alone and Tobias pulls me up into his arms.

„I've missed you" he says placing a soft kiss on my lips.

„I've missed you too" I say wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my head on his chest.

„You done for today?" he asks.

„Yeah. I just need to put these files away and then we can go home." I let go of him and gather all the files on my desk and lock them in my desk drawer. When I'm done Tobias holds my hand and we walk out of my office. I lock the door and check it before we finally leave home. While we're walking up the stairs to our floor I chuckle and Tobias looks my way.

„What?"

„I was just thinking about something Connor said."

„What did he say?" Tobias inquires.

„He said that next year we'll be Trick or Treating with our little one" I say looking up at him. He smiles warmly and places his free hand over my belly. He stops when we reach a landing and crouches down in front of me holding my swollen stomach with both his hands.

„I can't wait to hold you in my arms, my little champ" he says and just then the baby kicks litghtly. Tobias looks up, an expression of awe and happiness on his face. He bends forward and places tiny kisses all over it and the baby keeps moving.

„He likes it when you do that" I say.

„Then I'll do it as often as possible" Tobias says with an adorable smile on his face. We continue our way upstairs, Tobias holding my hand firmly in his making sure I don't trip. Once we are inside we decide to take a shower together.

While Tobias prepares everything in the bathroom I lay out our outfits. Tobias already said he will wear his comfortable pair of black jeans and a cute tee shirt I found that says „The Man Behind the Pumpkin" which is an allusion to my tee shirt. I found a nice maternity tee shirt that looks like a pumpkin carved face on a black background. So, obviously when I saw Tobias' in the men's section I had to buy it. I lay out black yoga pants and my comfy black boots. I look through my underwear drawer and pick a pair of boy shorts and even though I would love to wear a cute bra, I go with comfortable. Lately my boobs hurt but Addison assured me it's normal. Hormones are racing through my body and I get the occasional ache.

Once I'm done in the bedroom I join my husband in the bathroom where I realize he already entered the shower. I walk toward it and open the door startling him a bit.

„Hey, I thought we would take a shower together" I say pouting.

„And we are. I just got in" he says. „You took forever picking out your panties" he says teasingly.

„Shut up" I say and roll my eyes. I quickly get rid of my clothes and step into the shower. Tobias holds my hand steadying me and making sure I don't slip.

„Here, let me wash you" he says. He knows I have difficulties bending over. The more my belly grows the harder it is to bend over and pick something up if I drop it. That's why we lately shower together. He also bought a little stool for me to sit on while I shower so that I don't have to strain myself. He washes my hair first and while I apply the conditioner he proceeds to wash the rest of me, massaging lightly my sensitive boobs. For a moment I think he'll start something when he kneels down in front of me, but as of late my mind is always in the gutter. Instead of playing with my pussy he actually washes my belly while talking to our son. „Hey there, my champ. Daddy loves you so much" he says and kisses my belly. Every chance Tobias gets he talks to the baby, tells our son how much he loves him already, promises to always take care of him and teach him to be Dauntless, or just rubs my belly which always seems to calm our son down whenever he decides to move around like my belly is the freaking Pit. Not to mention our little bundle of joy wakes me up sometimes and then I have to wake Tobias because otherwise the baby doesn't calm down and I can't sleep either. Some nights I don't even wake Tobias, I just grab his hand and place it over where the baby is. He immediately calms down. I don't know why he does that only at Tobias' touch, but I'm glad at least one of us can calm our son down.

Tobias finishes washing me and I rinse my hair while my dear husband showers quickly. We decided to have supper in the cafeteria with our friends since we haven't done that in a while. We get out of the shower and I wrap myself in a big fluffy towel and walk into our bedroom. I dry myself thoroughly before I put my panties and bra on. I ask Tobias to help me with my socks and then put my yoga pants on. I slip into my comfortable boots and pull the maternity shirt over my head.

„Now that's what I call a pumpkin" Tobias says smirking. I smile and go to the vanity to dry and style my hair. It takes me nearly half an hour, but it's still far less then before when I had it really long. I decide to put on some make-up and since it's a special occasion I try out a smokey eye look that Christina taught me. I curl my lashes and use a red lipstick instead of my usual sweet pink one. When I'm done I turn around to find that Tobias went downstairs. I quickly leave our bedroom and walk down the stairs. Once I'm downstairs I find Tobias sitting on the couch reading some texts.

„Something interesting?" I ask.

„Nah, just mom invites us for lunch on Saturday. She says she wants to talk to you and also cook you something special" he says not looking up. As I lean on the couch and look over his shoulder I see that he texts her back but stops to ask if it's okay if we go.

„Sure" I say and he immediately informs his mom. When he's done he stands up and turns around and when he looks at me his jaw drops. „What?" I ask suddenly self-conscious. Did I do something wrong? Did I smear my make-up already?

"Damn, babe, you look hot" he says.

"Really?" I ask. I wasn't particularly going for hot.

"Yeah. Damn, can we ever go to a Dauntless party without me having to fight off your secret admirers?" he asks and I blush.

"Tobias" I say.

"What? It's true" he says smirking.

"Stop it. You know you are exaggerating and I doubt anyone finds me attractive all round like this" I say pointing at my belly.

"I find you attractive" he says and comes over wrapping his arms around my waist. "And for the record, you are hot and you are mine" he adds before kissing me passionately. When we part we both pant heavily and I can tell he doesn't want to leave the apartment just as much as I don't want that. Maybe we should just skip the party and have one of our own. But just as he leans in to kiss me again his stomach growls loudly and we laugh. "I guess we'll have to postpone this for later."

"Yeah. Come on. Let's go. I don't want my man to starve" I say and he chuckles.

We go down to the cafeteria and even from outside I can hear the loud Dauntless crowd. People enjoy themselves, which is a good thing. Every now and then we all are allowed to have fun and relax. We walk through the rows of tables until we reach ours. We sit down and find only Christina and Will here. Tobias goes to get us food while I make small talk with our friends.

"Why aren't you wearing a costume?" Christina asks disappointed.

"Because I'm pregnant" I say.

"There are costumes that could fit you" she says.

"Chris, I just wanted something comfortable. There will be plenty more Halloween parties to dress up for. Just let it go" I say and she pouts.

"Babe, Tris is right" Will says and she shoots him a glare.

"Do you know how uncomfortable I am?" I ask and she raises an eyebrow. "You'll know for sure when you get pregnant, but for now trust me that wearing a costume would have been torture for me."

"What about Four?" she asks.

"What about me?" he asks and sits down next to me, putting a tray in front of me.

"Why aren't you wearing a costume?" she asks.

"Because my wife isn't wearing. Besides I don't know how long we'll stay" he says and Christina almost has a meltdown.

"WHAT? You can't just not come to the party. You are leaders" she all but shouts.

"Christina, calm down. He didn't say we wouldn't come at all, we just don't know how long we'll stay" I try to calm her.

"What's going on?" Shauna asks as she sits down next to me and Zeke next to her. Marlene and Uriah sit next to Christina and Will and Lynn and Vicky next to them.

"Christina is having a meltdown because Four said we wouldn't stay that long" I tell my friend.

"Can you believe her?" Christina asks the rest of our friends.

"Chris, calm down. She's pregnant, she needs to rest" Shauna says.

"But we worked so hard for the party" she says pouting.

"Christina, I'm still going. Don't act like you did it for me. This is for Dauntless, the entire faction not just one person. And even if I wouldn't go at all I'm sure it still will be a night to remember" I say, trying to calm her.

"But…" she still protests.

"That's enough, Christina" Tobias says using his stern Four voice.

"Hey, guys. Can we join you?" Monica asks holding Phil's hand. I'm glad the two of them found each other.

"Yeah sure" Shauna says and the two new arrivals sit next to Zeke.

We eat and chat and every once in a while I glance over at Christina. She looks pissed but I can't imagine it's because I said I might not stay all night long. I mean, we almost never stay until the end. We usually leave after midnight. I don't get what's so hard to understand. I decide to ask her, but not in front of everyone. I get up and Tobias looks at me curiously.

"Where are you going?" he asks a little concerned.

"To have a chat with Christina" I say and look at my best friend. "Chris, a word?" I ask and she nods. We walk outside into the Pit and for a long while she keeps quiet. I decide to ask her, since she doesn't seem to come forth on her own. "What's going on?"

"I'm pissed that my best friend doesn't care about the party I put together" she says and at that I get angry.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I shout. She looks at me surprised. "Of course I care, but you seem to take this way too serious. You do see I'm pregnant, right?" I ask angry. She nods. "I'm tired, all the time. Right now I would kill to be upstairs in my bed taking a nap. But I'm here with my friend because I'm concerned about her. I care that you put this party together, but as I said there will be more parties to come. Right now the most important thing for me is my baby. I won't put the life of my son in jeopardy just because you can't handle the fact that I might leave the party early." She looks at me and tears come to her eyes. Immediately my mood shifts and I feel sorry for having yelled at her. "Chris, what's wrong? I know you aren't this upset because of the party. Tell me, what is going on?"

"I think Will is cheating on me" she says and my mouth hangs open. What?

"How do you know?" I ask her.

"I just do" she says and cries harder.

"Christina, I think you are exaggerating."

"You think Will cheating on me is an exaggeration?"

"I think that I need more than just your gut feeling to believe that my friend is cheating on his girlfriend. What prompted you to even think that?" I ask trying to get to the bottom of this?

"He's been acting strange lately" she says sobbing.

"Strange how?"

"He leaves early in the morning and comes back late. When he gets a phone call he leaves the apartment and last but not least he secured his phone with a password. Why do that if he doesn't have a secret?" she asks and starts crying again.

"Chris, he has a lot of work to do as a faction ambassador, you know that. And maybe he left the apartment to talk outside and not disturb you. As for the phone having a passcode I think that has nothing to do with you. He is often sent to the council or one of the factions. Whatever happens in Dauntless stays in Dauntless. My phone is passcoded and so is Four's and basically everyone who runs this place has a passcode. Have you talked to him?" I ask.

"And what would I say?" she asks angry.

"I don't know. Start with what bothers you, but don't get all bitchy with him. It might be something innocent and you overreact" I say.

"You think I'm really overreacting?" she asks, disbelief all over her face.

"I think that you should talk to him. Communication is very important in every relationship. How do you expect him to be honest with you if you yourself aren't with him?" I ask.

"I never cheated" she says defensively.

"And I never said you did. I'm just saying, you say he doesn't share things with you, but neither do you with him. You need to talk to each other not just share the same space."

"And how do I do that?"

"I told you. Sit down with him and have an honest talk. Maybe he has something on his mind, work related and doesn't want to bother you. Did you ever ask him about his work?"

"I ask him how his day was" she says.

"But do you ever talk about it? Do you try to help him when he feels overwhelmed?" I ask.

"He never seems to be overwhelmed. He almost always comes home smiling and when he's upset we just hang out and end up making love" she says.

"Chris, this is not okay" I say and she frowns.

"What do you know?" she asks defensive.

"I know that not everything is always peachy. We often had situations that left most of us angry and upset. Sex is good for tension relief, but you can't get a problem out of your system if you don't talk about it" I tell her.

"Yeah, I bet you and Four talk plenty" she says and points at my belly.

"Hey, that's not fair. And in case you missed it we are married. We wanted this baby and I won't allow you or anyone to talk shit like that about my family. You wanted your friend to talk to? Here I am. But it seems to me unless I agree with you my opinion doesn't matter to you. I tried to help you, but if you are so blind then I can't help you" I say and stomp off. I return into the cafeteria furious and sit down next to Tobias who looks alerted by my current state.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asks gently without anyone hearing us. I huff.

"Will, go and find Christina and fucking talk to her. I mean it. Because I swear to God I'm going to fucking kick both your stupid asses. Is that clear?" I ask loud and half the cafeteria turns to look at us.

"What's going on?" he asks confused.

"Go and find her or I swear I'm going to unleash my wrath on you two" I yell and he quickly gets up and leaves the cafeteria. I look around and realize a lot of eyes are trained on me. "Anyone else wanna mess with Mama Bear?" I ask and get up. I storm out of the cafeteria and head toward the stairs. I stomp up and trip and the next thing I know is that I fall backwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks for sticking around.


	91. Chapter 91

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey there my dear initiates. Thanks so much for sticking around. Since today is Halloween I posted a special one-shot called "The Story of the Hanging Man". You can consider it partly a prequel of this story, since it takes place before Tris finishes her initiation.
> 
> I've noticed that many of my readers review anonymously, which is fine, don't get me wrong. But some of you ask me questions and I can't really answer them since you are not registered here. As a solution here is what I propose. You can ask me questions on my Tumblr christiwind . tumblr . com no spaces. And not just those who are anonymous anyone actually.
> 
> Also, NaNoWriMo starts November 1st. I will participate, but I will do my best to update this fanfic weekly. However, things at work are a little to say the least stressed out. Don't get mad. As I write my own original story I will post it on my Tumblr. You can of course check it out and tell me what you think. Once I'm done I will re-write it and post it as a FourTris fanfic.

91

Oh my God! I'm going to fall. My baby… please dear God protect my son. I try to hold onto something, anything to stop myself from falling but it's too late. I'm already falling. I brace myself for the impact and close my eyes. But I never hit the ground. Instead two strong arms wrap themselves around me and push me back up. I open my eyes and turn around and see Tobias' frightened face inches away from my own.

"Tris" he breathes out shakily.

"Tobias, thank God. I thought I'd fall down" I say and tears rush to my eyes. He pulls me into his arms and I start crying. I could have hurt my baby, just because I didn't pay attention where I was going. What kind of a mother am I? Tobias whispers soothing words into my ear, telling me I'm fine, that he got me. Thank God for that, because otherwise I might be lying at the bottom of the stairs and my baby might be hurt. When I calm down enough I pull away a little and look up through a tear curtain.

"Don't cry, baby. I'm here. You are fine, our son is fine. Please" he says, his voice soft and filled with worry.

"I'm so sorry, Tobias. I should have paid more attention. Instead I stormed out and ran up the stairs."

"Come on. Let's go home. I'm not in the mood to go to any party" he says sternly. Me neither. We walk up the stairs, Tobias' arm securely around my waist and him keeping me close to his body.

Once we are inside our apartment we go sit on the couch and I snuggle close to my husband. He wraps me in his arms where I always feel safe and he whispers to me how much he loves me and our son and that everything is alright now. Our quiet moment is disturbed when Tobias' phone rings. He groans and looks at the caller ID.

"What?" he says unfriendly when he picks up. "We're at home. No, we're not coming. Because my wife is in distress and we don't want the baby to get hurt. Bye" he says and hangs up angry.

"Who was it?" I ask and wipe the last tears away.

"Just Zeke. He wanted to know if we go to that stupid party" Tobias answers and puts his phone on the end table.

"I know I said we would go, but I'm not in the mood" I tell him.

"Me neither. It's just a party. There will be plenty more. Our priority right now is little Baby Eaton" he says and rubs my belly. I smile at him. Just then the baby kicks and we both laugh.

"Seems like he agrees" I say.

"Do you wanna go to bed?" he asks.

"Let's just stay here for a while. But let's turn off the phones" I say. "I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone tonight."

"Okay. Let me just text Dwayne and Connor and let them know we aren't coming and that our phones will be turned off."

"Sure, do that." I get up and walk into our kitchen and make us some hot coco. I ask Tobias to put in a movie that we can watch, but tell him nothing scary or to exciting. He nods and rummages through our movie collection. Once I'm done in the kitchen I return to the living room with two mugs and Tobias puts in the movie. It's a romantic drama and I really appreciate it, since I know he isn't into this genre. We sit on the couch cuddled together under the soft blanket and sip our hot beverages.

Halfway through the movie I stop watching and start thinking of my fight with Christina. I hate fighting with her. She is my best friend, but she drives me nuts. Why would she think Will is cheating on her? He is a stand up guy that never once left me the impression he would seek another woman. Every time I see him he has heart eyes when he looks at her. It's almost disgusting. And it infuriates me to no end that she would not listen to me. First she seeks my advice and if it's not what she wants to hear she just goes ballistic. What the fuck?

"Is something wrong?" Tobias asks.

"Why do you ask?"

"You kept fisting the blanket and made some strange noises, like you were muttering something" he says and I look at him surprised. I didn't realize I did that.

"Sorry, I just kept thinking of my fight with Christina" I tell him.

"You had a fight with her?" he asks.

"Yeah. Apparently she thinks Will is cheating on her" I tell him. I don't know if it was meant to be a secret, although I sincerely doubt my friend is cheating.

"Why would she think that?" he asks confused. "Did he do something?"

"Apparently she can't grasp the concept of privacy and mistakes it with cheating" I say sarcastically.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Will's phone has a passcode and she freaked out over it."

"Everyone's phone in a leading position, even ambassadors, have a passcode" he says matter-of-factly.

"I know that and I tried to explain it to her. But when something gets into her head she doesn't let go. So, I suggested that she talks to him, confronts him. She just freaked out and asked what do I know. Well, duh… I'm married. At least I have to know something, right? And then she had the nerve to say that while I preach talking I go around and fuck my husband getting myself pregnant. So what? We are married. It's none of anyone's business if and when or how often we fuck. And the baby was planned. It's not like we just slipped up and bam pregnant" I say furious.

"Babe, you need to calm down."

"You calm down" and I get up. I pace in front of the couch with my hands on my hips.

"Babe, think of the baby. The stress can't be good for him" he says and I immediately stop. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to calm myself down. He is right. This stupid argument isn't worth my baby's safety and health. I sit back down and Tobias pulls me onto his lap. We wrap our arms around each other and I lay my head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so angry with her. Why is she asking for my opinion and help when she dismisses everything I tell her? It's not like I want her or Will hurt or upset."

"I know, but Christina is irrational sometimes. They need to solve their problems their own way."

"All I said was to talk to him. I didn't tell her how or what."

"I know, but please calm down. They will talk eventually and sort things through. And you need to calm down. Baby Eaton doesn't like it when mommy's sad" he says and makes me chuckle. "Wanna go to bed?"

"Yeah" I say and try to get out of his embrace, but instead he sits up with me still in his arms and carries me upstairs. "You know what?"

"What?" he asks kissing my temple gently.

"How about we take a relaxing bath?" I ask.

"If that's what you want, sure" he says. He is carrying me upstairs and I feel bad. I must be heavy. He sits me down on my feet and I peck his lips. He smiles at me and cups my face. "I love you, Tris Eaton, with all my heart."

"I love you too."

"I'm gonna run downstairs and lock the front door. I'll be right back, my love" he says smiling and leaves our bedroom. I enter the bathroom and let the warm water run. I go to the small cabinet we have in here and retrieve a few scented candles and place them around the room to give us enough light to see where everything is but also create a romantic ambiance. I pull out the bottle of cranberry and vanilla bubble bath lotion and pour a generous amount into the water. I start undressing and by the time I'm only in my underwear Tobias walks in already naked. I smirk when I see him.

"You were quick" I say.

"When it comes to having a relaxing bubble bath with my honey I move with the speed of light" he says and I laugh out loud. I needed that. "Here, let me help you" he says and helps me move out of my panties and immediately gets rid of my bra too. He helps me step into the tub but I don't sit down. I lay him get in as well and he sits down gently helping me to do the same. I lean my back against his chest and close my eyes for a moment.

"Hm, this is nice" I say while Tobias runs his large hands over my body.

"It is. I really enjoy taking baths with you" he says and kisses my shoulder.

"We need to make a list of things we want to buy. I know I'm only half way through my pregnancy but I'm so nervous and can't wait for the little guy to come" I say excited.

"I know what you mean. Ever since I've seen him in your dreams or visions I've been thinking of how our life would be like having him around."

"I know. Do you think the boy we saw in these visions is the one I'm carrying?" I ask really wondering about that.

"I don't know. But it also doesn't matter. He is in here" he says cupping my belly "and he is safe and sound and I'll protect him no matter what, the same way I protect you" Tobias says and tears come to my eyes. He is such a loving man. I must have done something very good in a former life to deserve him now. I don't think I could live a day without him by my side. I'm so proud and happy that he chose me to be his wife and the mother of his children and I swear I'll do my best to make him happy every day of our lives. He deserves it, more than anyone. Especially after all he's been through.

"Tobias?"

"Yeah?"

"How many kids do you want?" I ask him.

"As many as possible" he says and I can hear the smile that is probably plastered on his face.

"I need a number, babe."

"Four" he says and laughs.

"That's funny. But seriously now."

"I am serious. I think four would be nice. Our house would be full and if we have them close enough to each other they can grow up together and even get along. I know that siblings sometimes are jealous of each other, but we would love them all the same."

"Yeah. Well, can we have a raincheck on that?" I ask and he chuckles.

"Sure. So, what do you want to buy for the little one?" he asks curious.

"Well the girls told me that I would receive a lot of stuff during the baby shower, but I really want us to buy some things ourselves."

"Such as?"

"Bassinet, stroller, a few outfits, toys, pacifier, bottle. I want our son to have his first things from us."

"Sounds like a plan. How about we go to the children's store next week and look for everything. Once we decide on what to buy we can pick some furniture and decide on the color the room will be painted."

"That'll be great. I want to ask you something" I say.

"Anything, sweetheart."

"I want you there with me when the baby comes. I know not every father is there when his baby is born but I would really like you there" I say hoping he won't say no.

"Honey, not even the entire faction could keep from being in there with you. This is my son and wife we are talking about. I'll fight anyone who stands between you and me."

"You and me against the world, huh?"

"Damn right, baby" he says and kisses my temple.

We lay there in the tub for a while longer until it starts cooling down. Tobias helps me out and I get my fluffy bathrobe and put it on while Tobias only uses a towel to cover his lower half. We walk into the bedroom and after I dry myself up I start applying lotion all over my body to moisturize the skin. Tobias helps me with my back and then a thought crosses my mind.

"Lay down on your stomach" I say and he raises an eyebrow. "Just do it" I shove him a little. He smiles and does as told. I get into bed, the body lotion in my left hand, I crawl up his body and sit on his firm buttocks.

"Ah, now I get it" he says turning his head slightly and I can see his wide grin. "I'm getting the Tris Eaton deluxe relaxation treatment" he says and we both laugh.

"You betcha" I say. I lean forward and kiss his tattoo with the Dauntless flame. "My brave Four" I say and kiss his Abnegation tattoo "my selfless best friend" I continue and kiss his Erudite tattoo "my smart partner" and I proceed and kiss the Candor symbol "my honest husband" and finish at the Amity tattoo "my kind Tobias." I look up at him and he smiles. I suddenly feel chocked up and get off of him sitting next to him on the bed. I place my hand over his raven and say "the love of my life". He sits up and hugs me close to him.

"And you are the love of my life, Tris. I don't know how I would continue without you. Ever since you came into my life there's happiness and joy in it. Before I met you I was surrounded by darkness that threatened to consume me, but then you came, like a ray of light and you made all the shadows disappear. You showed me that I'm more than just one thing and that I can be even more. I was so scared to even think of fathering a child until I saw that little boy in your vision. I knew he was mine and I loved him immediately, just like I loved you. Thank you for being my best friend, my partner, my lover, my wife, the mother of my child, my whole life. I love you, Beatrice" he says chocked up.

"Oh my God, Tobias, that was so adorable and sweet. I love you so much" I say and pull away frowning.

"What?" he asks confused.

"I'm such a girl" I say and he nods.

"Well, yeah."

"Come on. Enough with this mushiness. It's enough that I'm all hormonal, I don't need my tough as nails husband to join me" I say with a chuckle and wipe a few tears away that rolled down my cheeks while he spoke. "Let me treat you right" I say and he kisses my lips softly before resuming his place on the bed. I sit down on his cute butt and pour some lotion into my palms. I rub them together enough to warm them up and then start to slide my hands all over his back. I start massaging his neck, trying to get all the knots out. Every now and then he groans or moans and I know I'm doing a good job.

"That's so good, babe" he says. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. I still have a lot to do here" I say. I continue further down his back making sure to apply enough pressure to loosen up his muscles but not too much as to hurt him. When I reach his lower back I hear him snort. He fell asleep. Poor thing, he must have been really tired. No wonder, there's so much going on around here and then I go and wake him up in the middle of the night because the little one won't stop moving around.

I gently get off of him and walk into the bathroom. I wash my hands clean and return to the bedroom. I pull out my PJ, put it on and get an extra warm blanket to put over Tobias. I don't want to wake him up, but I also don't want him to get sick. I throw the blanket over him and crawl into bed next to where he lies. As soon as my head hits the pillow I fall asleep.

When I open my eyes I am in the meadow behind Abnegation. For a moment I wonder what I'm doing here. But then I see my son run around. I smile. When he sees me he starts running toward me. I kneel down to catch him in my arms. The moment he is in my arms he starts giggling. I love that sound.

"Mommy."

"Hey, sweetheart."

"Whew daddy?" he asks me.

"Uhm, I don't know" I say and he frowns. I look around to see if I can see Tobias, but there's no one here except the two of us. "I think daddy is at work, baby."

"Call him" he says.

"Why?"

"Wanna show him something" he says vaguely.

"What do you want to show your daddy?" I ask.

"Whew gwandpa sleeps" he says. Grandpa? Is my dad here? And why would he sleep. "Daddy need to come."

"Why don't you show me first and then we call daddy. Okay?" I ask and my little boy thinks for a moment. He looks just like Tobias when he furrows his eyebrows in concentration. I can't help it and kiss his little cheek and he giggles. "Okay. But then you call daddy" he says looking at me expectantly.

"Of course I will. Come on. Show me where your grandpa is sleeping" I say and stand up. I let my son lead the way to wherever my father is. I look ahead but I can't see anything. I wonder if it's not just his imagination playing tricks on him. As we walk further a small shape appears in front of us, but it's not a person. It looks to me like a large stone or rather a stone tablet. My son let's go of my hand and runs toward it. Where is dad? He stops in front of the stone, his front toward me, and looks down smiling.

"Daddy not hew, but mommy is. Did good, gwandpa?" he asks and my heart rate picks up. Please, don't let it be what I think it is. Please, dear God, please don't let that be a head stone. I walk slowly toward my son and he looks up at me smiling. The closer I get the more convinced I am that this is a grave, my father's grave. I dread to look at it. I fear that it is true and my dear father is gone, ripped away from me. I feel tears rolling down my cheeks and I start sobbing. My son looks at me with furrowed eyebrows and a confused look on his face. "Mommy, what wong?" he asks. I step next to him and gather him in my arms. I need to feel the warmth of my son and his steady heart beat to calm me enough to be able to look at the inscription on the stone. I close my eyes and when I open them I turn my head toward the stone expecting to see my father's name on it. Instead I see someone else's: Marcus Eaton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thoughts?


	92. Chapter 92

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi, initiates! So, I posted a couple of days ago a new series of smutty one-shots called A Series of Kinky Events. Thanks to everyone for following and reviewing both this story and the new series. 
> 
> Ask me anything on Tumblr: christiwind . tumblr . com (no spaces)
> 
> I participate in this years NaNoWriMo w/ my first original novel called The Highest Summit. I'm at 23.259 words and counting. In case you are interested to read it it's on my Tumblr. I would actually love you to read it. But... no pressure.
> 
> In the meantime, here's a new chapter of YAMATW.
> 
> Enjoy!

92

I wake up with a start and breathe heavily. It's dark in the room and for a second I'm not sure if I'm awake. I sit up in the bed and Tobias groans next to me. Only now I realize he had his arm draped over me.

"What's wrong?" he asks, his voice thick with sleep.

"Nightmare" is all I say. Honestly, I don't know what that was.

"You okay?" he asks sitting up as well.

"Yeah, babe, go back to sleep. I'll just go downstairs and drink a glass of warm milk" I say and try to get up, but he holds me back.

"You do realize I know when you're not telling me something" he says serious.

"What makes you say that?"

"The tone of your voice. Whatever you dreamed scared you. Also, I can feel your rapid pulse" he says and only now I realize he is holding my wrist.

"Tobias, what the hell?" I say and yank my hand away. I get up and put my fuzzy slippers on. I turn on the light to make sure I won't trip and fall, but the moment the room is filled with the soft light I shut my eyes, needing them to get accustomed to the brightness.

"Tris, don't get mad. I didn't mean to check your pulse. I just grabbed your wrist and felt it" he says defensively.

"Can't I just have a nightmare and be a bit scared about it? I doubt that's so unusual" I say a little bitchy. Calm down, Tris, your hormones are getting the better of you.

"Sweetheart, I'm just worried" he says and gets up. He has pants on.

"You weren't wearing those" I say pointing at his PJ pants.

"I woke up and put them on" he explains. I nod. I turn around and walk toward the door. I open it and turn on the lights in the hallway. I make my way to the stairs and Tobias immediately grabs my hand in his.

"I can walk on my own" I say unfriendly.

"I know, but I don't want you to trip" he says. I don't protest since he is right. It doesn't hurt if he's there to hold my hand. We walk into the kitchen and Tobias turns on the light there. I take the milk out of the fridge and warm myself a glass.

"Do you want one too?" I ask and he nods.

Once our milk is ready we go back upstairs and just sit in our bed under the covers sipping the warm beverage. I know he is dying for me to say something, but I just don't know if I should. I just dreamed that Marcus Eaton was dead.

"Baby, tell me how I can help you" he says and I look at him. I close my eyes and sigh. I don't want to fight with him. It's not worth it. I set my glass on the nightstand and turn to look at my husband.

"It's better I show you" I say and he nods. "Before I do however, this can mean nothing at all. It can be a trick of my mind" or wishful thinking. "Don't take it more serious than it is" I say and he nods although he looks confused. I don't blame him. I take his hand in mine and we both close our eyes. I concentrate on the dream and as soon as the little boy, my son, appears I feel myself calming down. I let Tobias see everything I've seen. When we reach the part where Marcus' name is revealed on the tomb stone I open my eyes and he follows my example.

"That was Marcus' tomb" he says and looks away. I know he hates his father for what he did to him, but I'm sure a part of him also cares for him. I remember how bad he felt after Marcus got shot. I knew that it wasn't just because he was a suspect at first or because of the argument he had with Evelyn back then. Seeing the tomb of his own father must be triggering something in him because he remains quiet for a long while.

I rub his arm and then he turns to look at me. He isn't in tears, but I can tell he is sad. I grab him by the shoulder and pull him toward me. We lay down and he rests his head on my chest. I don't mind. I always love it when we are this close to each other.

"You okay, honey?" I ask him, my voice much softer than I thought.

"I honestly don't know" he says. "I never wished for him to die, even while living in his house and getting beaten, I never wished that."

"I know, baby. You are a better man than your father could ever be. You wouldn't hurt a fly if it were up to you. You are so much better than me" I say with a chuckle. But it's true. He is calm and gentle and just good, while I'm a hot-head and aggressive and frankly sometimes even I don't like myself because of it.

"That's not true" he says sitting up and cupping my face. "You are perfect" he says and I snort.

"Someone call the people who write the dictionary. Perfect has been redefined, and not in a good way" I say sarcastic.

"Why can't you see how amazing you are?" he asks furrowing his eyebrows.

"Why can't you see what an amazing man you are?" I counter. He sighs.

"You are really stubborn, Mrs. Eaton" he says and kisses my lips.

"You are one to talk" I say and at that we both laugh. After a while we lie back down and Tobias turns off the lights. I decide to speak up again. I know he must be thinking of what we saw. "Tobias, you can't crack your skull open over what I dreamed. It can mean something completely different."

"Tris, what if it's some sort of premonition?" he asks.

"I doubt it" I say skeptically.

"Why? You've been having dreams of our son for a year now and here he is" he says putting his warm palm over my growing belly.

"Tobias, just because I'm pregnant with a boy doesn't mean it's the same one like in my dreams. And even if it's the same the events in my dreams might not be the same as the ones that will happen. I had a dream of our son when Romeo kidnapped me. Does this mean it'll happen again?" I ask and I can tell, even in the dark, that Tobias looks both angry and scared at that thought.

"Don't say that" he says and pulls me close to him, as far as my belly allows.

"I'm just entertaining your theory. Listen, I think that my dreams mean something, yeah, but not that they predict the future."

"I don't know, Tris" he says and I can tell his mind is racing to all kinds of scenarios.

"Okay, consider this. Would you ever allow our children to go near Marcus?" I ask even though I know the answer.

"NO" he says a bit loud and then apologizes.

"It's okay" I say. "Our son, in my dream, did he seem scared of Marcus?" I ask and let him think for a moment.

"No" he finally says confused.

"Even if we would tell our children that Marcus is their grandfather, your father, neither of us would let them get close to him. But our son seemed familiar with him, even happy to be around him, sort of" I say trying to explain my point.

"You mean, it wasn't real" he says.

"Yeah. When the little boy said grandpa is sleeping and wants to talk to you I thought he meant my dad. I can see my dad hanging around our kids, but not Marcus. But the little boy was more than comfortable, he was happy to help his grandpa. Tobias, I think this dream means something else. I don't know what yet, but I doubt it means what we saw."

"Maybe your mind wants to tell you something you are missing while awake" he says surprising me.

"How come?"

"I started reading all kinds of books about dreams and the supernatural. I know not all relate to your ability, but it was worth a shot" he says and I can tell he is a little embarrassed.

"It's okay, babe. Thanks for doing it."

"Anyway, I read that sometimes dreams project fears or hopes or even point out unresolved issues, that the conscious mind just pushes out of mind so to speak" he explains.

"Makes sense. I've been wondering if Marcus had anything to do with Myra's death and Edward's successful disappearance."

"You think he helps Edward?" Tobias asks.

"Maybe. But I don't have proof. As a matter of fact, I don't even have a fragment of a lead toward him. It's just a feeling."

"Maybe you are right. You are very intuitive. We shouldn't dismiss the idea of Marcus being somehow involved completely. But let's keep this to ourselves until we can find some actual evidence" he suggests.

"I couldn't agree more" I say.

"Come on, baby. Let's get some sleep. We'll think of this tomorrow" he says and goes to kiss my forehead.

The next couple of days are rather boring. I kept my distance from Christina because I'm really angry with her. I only tried to help and all she does is yell at me and say hurtful things. I know that I might exaggerate a bit, but am I not allowed to feel offended and angry? While I lived in Abnegation I just had to swallow my pride and bow my head, but I'm Dauntless now. Screw all that. I can be as angry as I want.

Tobias and I postponed any further talk about my dream and Marcus, but I can tell he is thinking about it. I can't blame him. He still thinks this might be a premonition, but I sincerely doubt it. Maybe he was right when he said that my mind wants to point out something I'm either ignoring or I'm unable to see while awake. The bad part is, I have no clue what.

Today is another council meeting day. Yeay! Tobias drove me to the Hub and told me to call him to come pick me up. The more time passes and I advance with my pregnancy the more protective he gets. It's adorable really, but sometimes I feel like an invalid. I sit in the conference room next to Jack and look over several papers.

"How are you feeling?" Jack asks me.

"Huge" I say and he chuckles. "I'm actually really good. I barely experience morning sickness and the cravings have also stopped. Well, mostly anyways."

"That's good. You guys know already what you'll have?" he asks with a smile.

"Yeah. A boy" I say proud.

"Congratulations" he says and hugs me.

"Thank you. How are the wedding preparations going?" I ask. After initiation was over Jack proposed to his long term girlfriend, Vanessa. They decided to get married on Valentine's Day, since it's so romantic.

"Everything goes as planned, thanks for asking. By the way, Vanessa asked me to invite you and Four for dinner sometime. Whenever it's okay with you guys" he says.

"I'll talk to Four and we'll get back to you as soon as possible." Just as Jack wanted to say something I hear Marcus shout. We both turn in the direction where we heard him yell and to my surprise I see none other than my mother-in-law. "Evelyn?" I ask more to myself. I get up and walk over there. "What is going on?" I ask my dad who stands next to Evelyn.

"I'll explain immediately" he says to me before saying a little louder "Please, everyone take a seat." We do as instructed and wait for my dad to explain.

"Andrew, what is she doing here? She isn't a member of this council" Marcus says still rooted to the spot.

"Marcus, please sit down. The council needs to discuss an important matter" my dad says sternly. Reluctantly, Marcus sits down but keeps glaring at Evelyn. She glares back but then turns her gaze from her ex-husband and she looks at me. The moment our eyes lock her gaze softens and she smiles. "As you all may know, over these past year many things have changed in this city. I think I'm objective enough to say that for the better. Would you agree?" he asks and a round of "yeses" are heard. "For far too long our society was enslaved by old rules and laws that might have worked in the early days right after the war, but we as individuals and society alike have evolved and we all needed to change things to make them better for everyone in this city. I know this might sound biased coming from me and I want you to speak up if you don't agree with what I'm about to say." He looks around and sees how we all nod in agreement with him. I wonder what this is all about. "My daughter, Tris, showed us from the very beginning that we can't let old habits dictate and control our lives. At first I was as reluctant as any of you in this room, maybe even the city, to accept change. But the events involving Jeanine Matthews opened my eyes and I hope yours too. Tris showed that change can be beneficial and for the past months we've all seen how well all the factions can work together in harmony. The city prospered and we were able to rebuild parts of it that were destroyed a long time ago. When she came with the Faction Less Initiative we were all skeptical, me included. I didn't really understand what it meant until she showed us not only on paper but through actions. The faction less started rebuilding parts of the city and even refurnished an old building that now houses fifty people. It is my belief that even though these people do not belong in any of the five original factions they themselves created a faction of their own. They are a community and if we let them they can be part of our society and actually contribute to it. The Reintegration Act that we all signed allowing former faction members to return was also a huge success, despite the smaller than anticipated number of returns. But those who decided to remain faction less expressed their desire to be part of our society and help us all. Over the past two months we talked of job opportunities for the faction less and I have to say the plan is more promising than I thought. In order for us to work together as a team we need to include their leader. Not because they demanded it, which they didn't, but because it's the right thing to do. Their leader knows them, just as we know our factions. They all have a right to have a voice on the council and that voice is Evelyn Johnson" dad says and looks at her smiling. Marcus stands up and wants to protest. "Marcus, I know you have objections and we will listen to them, but keep in mind that Evelyn is a leader" he says with a warning tone. Marcus closes his eyes and sighs. He reminds me a little of Tobias when he does that. I shake my head to clear my thoughts. Tobias is nothing like his father. Marcus stands up and looks directly at my father, avoiding Evelyn.

"Andrew, I understand your point of view" he says and surprises me. For the past year Marcus Eaton was the personified obstacle when it came to innovation and progress. "For two hundred years this city lived and thrived respecting faction law. Ever since your daughter became part of the council things have changed." Here we go.

"Marcus, if you start again with that…" dad says a little exhausted. Marcus always made a point to say that progress for the sake of progress is poisonous.

"No, I'm not. I had my doubts as have many others of you" he says and looks around "and maybe I voiced them too often, but I had this city's best interest at heart" he says and I snort. Everyone looks at me. Damn.

"Sorry. Had to cough" I say although no one believes that. Evelyn smirks and winks at me. I blush a little.

"As I was saying" Marcus continues. "I always had the best interest of the city at heart. I might have voiced it wrongly and yes I was more than reluctant to try out Tris' ideas, since they seemed so wild and well Dauntless, but I have to admit the city looks better. It even feels better living in it. I know I'm Abnegation and I should ignore hurtful name calling like Stiff, but I'm only human" he says and at that Evelyn scoffs. Marcus ignores her and continues. "I know that Tris did many good things for the city, all I'm asking for is caution."

"You afraid I might sabotage or manipulate the council?" Evelyn asks him directly and he throws her a glare. "Don't worry, any of you. Would I have been invited here a year ago I might have tried to overthrow you" she says honestly. I know she means it. "But I've seen a different way. You are right Marcus. We've lived for so long respecting the old rules and laws that we forgot what it means to evolve and be free. As a faction less I am free. I am happy with my life and I try to help others. But I can see among my people that they wish for more. I can honestly tell you all I wouldn't stand here before you if it wouldn't be for my daughter-in-law. She changed this city for the better. We all work together, every faction and the faction less alike. We all care for each other and because of this we are able to make this city not only safer, but also more pleasant. Faction less were always seen as good for nothings, but that's not true. So many of them are hardworking and would do their very best to help our city. You from the factions always complained that the faction less receive goods and food and do nothing all day long. Who's fault is that? We would work and earn what we receive, but you never allowed us to. Thanks to Tris and her projects the faction less aren't just the scum of the city, but hardworking people who help improve everyone's life."

"My proposal is as follows: since Evelyn is the leader of the faction less she can coordinate them better than any of us. We all are leaders of our own factions and now how demanding and time consuming that can be. The faction less know and trust her and I am certain that by working together we can rebuild this city, make it look like in the pictures Tris showed us. Who is in favor of allowing Evelyn Johnson joining the city council?" dad asks and I raise my hand along with Jack and a few others. It's only after Marcus raises his hand the rest of the council agrees. I look at Marcus surprised. Never in a million years would I have thought he would agree with Evelyn joining the council. After that Evelyn is officially logged in as a member and has henceforth the same rights as any of us.

I'm curious as to why Marcus is so accepting. Where did this change of heart come from? I decide to investigate. I haven't done this since last year when I followed Eric and Max into Max's old office, but I need to know. I just have to be quick. I don't know what effect this will have on my baby. This is the perfect moment anyways. There's a lot of paperwork to go through with Evelyn and I can always say I took a nap because of the pregnancy. I put my arms on the desk in front of me and lay my head down on them. I close my eyes and let myself be enveloped by the familiar darkness before I can detach myself from my body.

"Mommy? What are you doing?" my son asks and I look to my right. There he is standing looking up at me in confusion.

"What are you doing here?" I ask surprised. Have I actually fallen asleep? I don't think so. He giggles.

"I'm always with you" he says. Maybe this little boy is the one I'm carrying. This is so confusing. I crouch down and touch him. He feels real, but everything else I touch I just move through, like I'm a ghost. But I can hold him. "What are you doing, mommy?"

"I have to find something out. You see that man?" I ask pointing at Marcus. He looks and smiles.

"Yeah, he is daddy's daddy" he answers. So he knows.

"He has a secret and I need to find out what it is." I get up and pick my son up. I would have expected him to be heavy, but then again this is not really happening, not in a conventional way. I walk toward Marcus who sat down in the back and just observes the scene before him. A hint of a smile on his face.

"Isn't she beautiful and strong?" Marcus asks, but he doesn't move his lips. Did he just think that? "I was such an idiot. I thought that my wife needed to be submissive, that that's what a good wife meant. I always got angry when she talked back, although back then she was a lot quieter. I thought that if I beat her into submission she wouldn't go after other men, but I only made it worse. She left me. And she left Tobias. I was an awful father to him and I know he'll never forgive me. There isn't an excuse for what I did to my boy. I really believed that I could make him better. Better than his ungrateful mother. But then Choosing Day came when he was sixteen and he chose to leave me too. I was angry, I considered him a traitor. But he ran away because of me. He became this wonderful man all by himself. I had nothing to do with that." I look at Marcus and he seems like he is about to cry but then rubs the heels of his palms against his eyes to absorb the moisture. "I hope one day he'll forgive me even though I don't deserve it. I just hope he'll be a better father than I ever was. But judging by the way he looks after Beatrice and how protective he is of her I know he will. I never was like that. I thought I loved Evelyn, which I probably did and still do, but it was never like what my son has and I have to admit, while selfish, I envy him. He found true love and the woman he chose loves him back the same way. I never had that. I saw it in other couples and I couldn't understand why I and Evelyn were so different. I thought she was cheating on me. And for a long while after she left I thought Tobias wasn't my son. I used to picture her with another man, that other man making love to her the way I never knew how, that other man impregnating her and giving her a child. It wasn't until Tobias turned fifteen and I broke his arm. I had to take him to the hospital and then I secretly asked the doctor to do a DNA test to check my paternity. As it turns out, I am Tobias' father. I punished the boy for nothing. He didn't need punishing to begin with. He was a respectful and generous, selfless young man and even as a child he was kind and quiet. He never once talked back or did anything to upset me. It is only now that I realize that all those horrific things I saw were figments of my sick imagination, my desire to find a different reason for Evelyn's abandonment, a reason to justify me beating my own son until he passed out. I was such a fool. And instead of trying to mend things I go around and…" Marcus' train of thought gets interrupted when his attention is drawn to… me. He looks over where I am sleeping and my dad frantically tries to wake me up, but there's no reaction.

"Please, quick, call an ambulance" dad shouts. "Her pulse is very weak" he says.

"Mommy, go back" my son says looking worried. I spare one last glance on Marcus who looks genuinely concerned. I get up but feel like my legs are made of lead. I can barely move. Jack picks my body up and carries me outside of the room. I see Evelyn dial a number.

"Hello, Tobias?" she says. "Honey, I'm at the Hub with the council. Tris is unconscious. We're taking her to the hospital. Please, come quick" she says and follows Jack and my dad outside. I try to concentrate on my body and soon the darkness envelops me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What do you think of Marcus' confession?
> 
> What do you think of Evelyn joining the council?
> 
> What will happen to Tris?
> 
> How will Tobias react to Marcus' confession?


	93. Chapter 93

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: my dear initiates. i'm sorry for updating so late but I was so busy with NaNoWriMo. I'm happy to announce that my original novel The Highest Summit reached the following word count: 43.517 words, which means there are 6.483 words left to reach the 50K goal. But I doubt the story will end there. It won't be as long as YAMATW, but I'm confident it will last for at least another 10K (give or take).
> 
> As an apology for making you wait I wrote a double chapter for you guys. If you remember a while ago I asked you which couple should get married next or who should get pregnant. In this chapter I will reveal one of these good news.
> 
> I will soon update A Series of Kinky Events. I am currently stuck writing a request - a Four-Tris-Eric menage. I thought it would be easier, turns out it's not.
> 
> And risking to bore you, I would love if you guys would check out my original novel on my blog christiwind . tumblr . com (no spaces) The Highest Summit. I am really proud of it.
> 
> For now, enjoy the next chapter of your favorite Divergent fanfic :)

93

I try to open my eyes, but they feel heavy. I hear a steady beeping sound and wonder what it is. I try to move, but every muscle in my body is sore like I have been working out for days and only now I'm able to rest. I move my right hand, but realize it is being held by someone. The person stirs beside me.

"Tris?" I hear Tobias' concerned voice. I force my eyes open and look into the dark blue ones of my husband. "Thank God, you are awake" he says relieved. "Wait, here. I'm calling the doctor" he says and quickly moves to the door and calls someone. A moment later he returns to my bedside and grabs my hand again.

"Where am I?" I ask, my voice hoarse.

"In the hospital. You scared me" he says and a tear falls down his cheek.

"I'm sorry" I say and just as I want to wipe the tear away Addison comes in. She smiles softly at me. Tobias gets up and kisses my forehead before heading to the door. "Don't go" I say. He turns around and nods, but stays away from the bed.

"Hello, Tris. Good to have you back" Addison says.

"It's good to be back" I joke.

"How are you feeling?" she asks.

"Like someone used me as a punching bag" I say.

"You fainted, which isn't entirely abnormal, but you were out for quite some time."

"Is my son okay?" I ask worried.

"We've been monitoring both your vitals and the beeping sound you hear is your son's heart beat. I turned his monitor louder because I knew you would be worried. He was in a bit of distress because you didn't wake up, but as soon as Four got here and started talking to both of you he calmed down" she says with a chuckle.

"Yeah, my baby boy likes it when his daddy talks to him" I say.

"What happened? Why did she faint?" Tobias asks concerned.

"To be honest, fatigue is a factor or a stressful environment, but it's a bit odd that it took her so long to wake up again. I don't know why. This is why I want to keep her here over night to monitor her health and the baby's" Addison says and Tobias nods.

"I'm staying here too" he declares, leaving no room to argue.

"That won't be a problem. My shift will end tomorrow morning at ten, so if anything happens I'm nearby. Don't worry" she says. She leaves us alone and Tobias resumes his place on the chair next to my bed.

"I was so worried" he says.

"I'm sorry" I say again.

"It's not your fault" he says smiling at me. Oh, but I think it is. Should I tell him? I don't want to upset him anymore and I don't want us to fight. But we also promised never to have secrets.

"Tobias, did anyone tell you what happened before they called you?" I ask and he furrows his eyebrows.

"Not exactly. I just know that my mom was called to the Hub by your dad, something about making her part of it. But I don't really care about that right now. You and our son are my major concern" he says and presses his lips softly to mine.

"But what happened with Evelyn is partially the reason why I'm here" I say and he looks even more confused.

"I don't understand."

"Dad brought Evelyn to the Hub to include her. She is now a full council member representing the faction less. Marcus stood up and voiced his opinion" I say. Tobias grunts.

"Let me guess. He was opposed it" he says.

"Actually, no. It was because of him that those who were reluctant to vote yes finally did. I found that odd and well I went investigating" I say the last part quieter.

"What do you mean?" he asks raising an eyebrow. He already knows what I mean or at least suspects but lets me say it.

"I projected myself to go closer to him and try to look through his mind" I say in his head. I don't want anyone finding out about my gift. We are alone, but you never know who might eavesdrop.

"You did what?" Tobias asks out loud and looks at me with an expression both angry and disappointed.

"Calm down" I say. "I had to know."

"Tris, he is not worth your life or the life of our son" he says and glares at me the same way he used to when I was an initiate. I don't fight him, since I know he is right.

"Tobias, I know I did wrong. And I'm sorry. But I found something out. Do you want me to show you or not?" He looks at me with furrowed eyebrows and I can't read him. It doesn't happen often anymore that I can get a good read on him. He finally nods and I grab his hand between mine. I allow the images from when I projected myself and saw our son to the moment when I returned to my body flow into his mind. Once we open our eyes and I release his hand he looks at me confused.

"Do you think it's true?" he asks, obviously meaning Marcus' confession.

"I have no reason to doubt it. Unless he is aware of my gift and he had any way of knowing I'm there I doubt he just picked that particular moment to think that."

"That doesn't change anything" Tobias says forceful.

"I know. I never said it did. It's just odd. It's a side I never thought of seeing in Marcus Eaton. I don't excuse anything and you know I'm the first who would pull the trigger on him for what he did. But I can't deny what I've heard. The bad thing is he was about to say something else but then got distracted when dad noticed I was unconscious."

"What do you think he meant by instead of mending things he did something else? What did he do?" Tobias asks leaning back on his chair.

"I don't know. It might have something to do with Edward."

"Why?"

"Well, Myra told us in her book that she saw Marcus meeting Edward and his crime buddy and gave them a suitcase. We never found out what was in it and why he even dealt with faction less to begin with."

"I don't care right now. We can think of this later. Right now you and our son are important."

"You're right" I agree with him.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my wife?" he asks, a hint of smile on his handsome face. I roll my eyes.

"Shut up" I say. He stands up and presses his lips to mine.

"You up to see a few people?" he asks.

"Who?"

"Your parents, mom, Hana and a bunch of others. But if you are tired I can send them home" he says caressing my cheek.

"No, it's okay. But I want to see mom first. Maybe she can offer a new perspective on the Marcus problem" I say playing with the bandage on the back of my hand.

"Tris, I thought we agreed to stop worrying about him" Tobias says a little upset.

"Yeah, but let me at least tell mom what's up and maybe she can find something out or offer us her point of view."

"Fine, but no necessary dwelling on anything regarding Marcus" he says sternly.

"Yes. Just don't get mad" I say. He sighs and hangs his head a little.

"I'm not getting mad, I'm just worried."

"I know, honey and I'm sorry I caused all this" I say.

"It's okay. You just wanted to find out the truth. Besides it wouldn't be you if you wouldn't do something crazy" he says with a chuckle. I don't know if he wants to cheer me up or himself.

"I guess so. Tobias, how about I talk to mom alone and you inform the others that I have to stay overnight? Make it look like I just want my mommy and you give us a few minutes alone. I don't want dad or Evelyn question why I want to see her alone" I say.

"I'll do that. I'll send your mom in and wait a few minutes. Just let me know when to send someone else in" he says smiling softly. I nod and he pecks my lips before leaving the room. A moment later mom comes in, worry clear on her face.

"My sweet baby, I was so worried about you" she says and sits on the chair next to my bed.

"I'm sorry, mom. I'm fine now. Baby is fine too" I say, trying to comfort her.

"What happened?" she asks in a low voice.

"After Evelyn was named part of the council I found it odd that Marcus didn't protest, but actually agreed with dad. I projected myself to spy on him. He confessed in his mind that he abused both Evelyn and Tobias, but he also said he was sorry. I think he hopes to redeem himself someday, but there's something else I couldn't find out" I say, giving mom the short version of the events.

"Beatrice, you shouldn't have put yourself and the baby at risk for that man" mom says in a scolding tone. I feel the urge to bow my head in obedience, but fight it.

"Mom, I didn't do it for Marcus. I did to find out what he is plotting. And I'm glad I did it. Well, to a point, that is. I don't really care if he is sorry or not for what he did to Evelyn and Tobias. I will never forgive him for hurting them. He hurt Tobias in ways I don't even think we know yet. Tobias is scared that he might turn out like his father" I say to mom.

"That's absurd. I know him well enough and I trust your judgment to know that Tobias will never be like Marcus. I've known Marcus since I joined Abnegation. He was always strict and to himself, probably why no one ever questioned the absence of his wife and son from social gatherings. But Tobias is different. He might not be the friendliest with strangers, but he is polite and those who know him know what a wonderful human being he is. I think he will be a great father" mom says smiling.

"I'm certain he will be. Our son isn't even born yet and he moves heaven and earth to make him and me happy. He often talks to our son and the baby moves around excited to hear his daddy. Addison just told us that while I was passed out the baby was agitated and it was only after Tobias started talking to him that he calmed down."

"Beatrice, you need to promise me not to do this again. Whatever happens, your life or the life of your child isn't worth the risk" mom says with urgency.

"I know, mom. Don't worry. That's a promise that I first and foremost will make to myself. I love my son and I would never deliberately hurt him. I didn't know before, but now I'm wiser."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Mom, don't tell dad."

"Don't worry. You know your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks. I wonder what Marcus meant by he wishes he started mending things instead of doing something else. What did he mean? What did he do?"

"I don't know. But let's worry about that later. Do you want me to call your dad in? He is anxious to see you. So are Evelyn and Hana and your friends."

"Tobias?" I ask in my mind. I wait for him to answer.

"Yes, love" comes his response promptly.

"Are any of our friends here?"

"Yes. Zeke, Shauna, Uriah, Christina and Will. Do you want to see them?"

"No. I'm too tired. I just want to see dad and Evelyn and maybe Hana. Could you come into my room so that I can actually talk to you?" I ask with a chuckle.

"I'm there in a moment" he replies. Like he said he enters the room and mom smiles at him.

"So, you don't want to see them" he says out loud and mom gives him a questioning look,

"I used my gift to talk to him" I explain. She nods.

"It amazes me how you two can talk so easily" she says with a chuckle.

"Yeah. But I guess it is easy when it's your soul mate you are talking to" I say and Tobias grabs my hand squeezing it lightly.

"You two are so adorable" mom says.

"Should I call your Andrew and my mom?" Tobias asks.

"Yeah. Please apologize for me to the rest. Tell them I'm tired. I really don't want to see anyone right now" I say and he nods and leaves the room.

"Maybe Evelyn, your father and I should leave too" mom says.

"No, you I want to see. I'm just not in the mood to receive more visitors" I explain.

"Well, alright. How are you feeling?"

"A lot better. The baby seems happy too. He is moving around a lot" I say and just then dad and Evelyn enter. Both come over and hug me and kiss my forehead and temple.

"How are you, sweetheart?" dad asks.

"Been better, but I'm a lot better than before. I'm sorry for having you scared and ruining your day, Evelyn."

"Don't be ridiculous. I don't care about that. I care about you and my grandbaby" she says serious.

"Thanks, Evelyn, we are both fine" I say trying to reassure her.

"I'm glad to hear that."

As Tobias returns to my room telling us that the rest left we start chatting about little things, but mainly about the baby. Mom and Evelyn start reminiscing about their pregnancies and even give me pointers. When they reach the topic of childbirth I watch Tobias and dad making faces as the two women explain some really gross stuff, which I have to admit don't sound too appealing. And when Evelyn says something about the placenta coming out I just stop them.

"And that concludes tonight's horror story" I say and dad laughs a little, while mom and Evelyn look at me curious.

"It's something natural" Evelyn states.

"Be that as it may, I fainted enough for one day. And trust me I would gladly pass out than hear anything more about all that" I say.

"I think Beatrice is right. We don't want to scare her, Evelyn" mom says.

"No offense, but you passed that when Evelyn said what a big head Tobias had when he was born" I say. I fight the urge to reach down between my legs and put my hands in front of my vagina.

"Babe, I just started to forget that" Tobias says making a face.

"Oh, shut it you two. That day was the best day of my life" Evelyn says and caresses Tobias' cheek. "And I assure you, when you two hold your son for the first time you will feel the same."

"Yeah, I can't wait for that" Tobias says.

"Me neither. Maybe then I'll get some sleep" I say.

"I doubt it" dad says. "It will take a few weeks until the baby is on a sleeping schedule and a few months to not wake you at night."

"Do you experience discomfort when you sleep?" mom asks.

"Sometimes. I can't sleep on my back anymore, but when I'm on my side I can't fall asleep. And then Tobias talks to the baby and wakes me up, but I don't really mind that. Usually I have to pee then so it's okay."

"I'm sorry for waking you" Tobias says sheepishly.

"It's okay. I like it when you talk to him. And I'm sorry when I snap and yell at you. I don't really mean it."

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I don't mind" he says.

"But I do. You don't deserve that."

"It's okay, really. I know you don't mean it" he says smiling.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" mom asks, sensing the awkwardness.

"No, we haven't. We both have a few names we like, but we just wanted to wait a while longer" Tobias says.

"You should think of one soon. Before you know it the baby will be here" Evelyn says.

"Yeah. We will" I say.

They stay with us a little while longer until they finally head home. Mom promises to come visit me tomorrow morning and I thank her. We say goodbye and after they left one of the male nurses rolls an extra bed into my room, which he leaves right next to mine. Tobias gets rid of his jacket and his shoes and climbs into bed, trying to get as close to me as possible.

"After you are released and feel better, how about we go check out furniture for the nursery?" he asks.

"That'll be great. I also know what color I want."

"Okay."

"Green. After he gets older and wants something different we can change it" I say.

"Green it is. You should try and get some sleep, honey" he tells me while taking my right hand and kissing every knuckle.

"I'm not tired yet" I say "and even if I would want to sleep your son decided to run a marathon" I say holding my side where the baby just kicked. Tobias smiles and places his large hand over my tummy and comes closer to it with his face.

"Hey, buddy, your mommy needs to sleep. Be a good boy and let her" he says and I chuckle. The baby kicks again, but then stops moving.

"You know, I'm supposed to have this special bond with the baby since I'm carrying him, but it seems he listens to his daddy more" I say as I caress his cheek.

"No one said daddies can't have special bonds with their unborn children" he says with a little pout.

"You're right." I try to keep my eyes open but somehow now that the baby stopped moving I feel tired. I close my eyes for what I think are only a few minutes, but turn out to be hours.

When I open them again soft light streams into my room and I have to hold my hand up to cover my eyes for a moment. Once they adjust to it I open them and look around. Tobias isn't here. He must be in the bathroom or stepped outside to talk on the phone. I check my own phone that was on the nightstand next to my bed and see that it is eight a.m. I must have been really tired to sleep so much. I try to sit up but it feels like something is pushing me back down. Tobias enters the room and smiles when he sees me awake.

"Good morning, sweetheart" he says.

"Good morning, baby. Where did you go?"

"Just to get a coffee, although the coffee here isn't nearly as good as the one you make" he says taking a sip from the hot beverage. "How did you sleep?" he asks sitting down on the chair next to my bed.

"Better. I had no idea I was this tired."

"Yeah, the moment you closed your eyes you were out like a light" he says with a chuckle.

"I have no idea why I was so tired" I say looking at him and he gets serious.

"I think you do." I nod. I think so too.

"Can we not talk about it anymore?" I ask hopeful.

"Sure. On my way here I passed Addison. She said she would come check on you and the baby in about thirty minutes."

"That's good. Maybe if she says I'm fine we can go home."

"You hungry? Want me to get you something?" he asks.

"Thank you, that's very thoughtful of you, but I'm fine. Maybe if we can leave than we'll have breakfast at home."

"Well, then let us hope she says you are good to go" he says with a light laugh.

We talk about minor things that need to be taken care of at the office while waiting for Addison's arrival. Fortunately, she enters my room sooner than expected and immediately proceeds to examine me. To both mine and Tobias' delight she says both I and the baby are fine and signs my discharge papers. Within twenty minutes Tobias and I sit in our car and drive back to Dauntless, home.

He helps me go upstairs to our apartment and sits me down on the couch. I'm not in the mood for much, so Tobias prepares two bowls of cereal for us and cuts some fruits. He comes into the living room where we turn on the TV and let a movie play while eating.

"You need to go to the office?" I ask as we walk into the kitchen to clean up.

"Not necessarily. Why? You have something in mind, Mrs. Eaton?" he asks wiggling his eyebrows.

"Yeah" I say and walk as seductively as I can toward him. I wrap my arms around his middle and we keep each other close as he bends down to capture my lips, but just before they connect I say "Let's go to the children's store" and he groans. I giggle a little.

"You'll pay for this" he says pointing at the bulge in his pants.

"Don't worry about that. You'll get paid plenty" I reassure him. He kisses me gently and hugs me a little before finally letting go. We both walk upstairs and change since we are still in the same clothes from the day before and then head to the Pit.

On our way we see a lot of people who ask me how I am, how the baby is and if they can help in any way. I tell them both the baby and I are fine and thank them for their kind words and concern. Never in a million years would I have thought that the Dauntless are this compassionate. The old rules prevented us all to see how people from other factions truly are. I'm happy that I contributed in changing that. We are all part of this city even if we live in different factions and maybe one day, when my children or even grandchildren are adults there won't be any factions and everyone can live in one whole community. The books I've read from the old Library and the Museum made me realize how the world looked like before the war. It is in our nature to destroy, but there is also a lot of creating in it too. We just need to create more and destroy less. Thankfully, I could persuade the council to listen to me and slowly, but steady the city transforms into a peaceful place where truly everyone finds his or her place. For me this place is Dauntless, but more so Tobias. I'm home wherever he is. We could live faction less for all I care as long as we are together or maybe outside in Amity at that little cabin. But our lives are here now and I  
am more than happy because of it.

As we browse through the store after we picked out the necessary furniture for the nursery we look over baby clothing. I know I must drive him crazy but all these little outfits are so adorable and cute. I can't decide which ones to get.

"Sweetheart, if you like them you can buy everyone of them" Tobias says chuckling while rubbing my back a little. I moan softly because that's exactly what I need right now: a massage.

"Babe, could you give me a massage when we get home?" I ask.

"Sure, but I think we should go now" he says.

"What? No. Just another minute" I whine.

"Honey, you are tired, your back hurts and it's been three hours" he says. I look at him shocked. I didn't realize that much time passed.

"You sure?" I ask.

"Yes. Come on. We can come back another time and you can continue browsing. How about we buy these outfits just to start somewhere?" he asks and I feel tears gather in my eyes. They are happy tears, but Tobias looks at me alerted.

"I'm fine, babe, it's just you are so adorable when it comes to our son and me. I have no idea what I did to deserve you. Especially when I'm all bitchy and snap at you" I say and the tears fall down my cheeks.

"Love, it's alright. The hormones cause you to be irritated. I know that. Don't apologize. I'm the one to thank you for being so wonderful. You are carrying my child and give me so much happiness and love that sometimes I don't know if this is real or I'm still in my old room dreaming happy things to keep me from remembering the bad ones."

"Oh, honey" I say and cup his face. He leans down and captures my lips in a loving kiss. When we part he rests his forehead on mine and whispers how much he loves me. "I love you too."

I wipe away my tears and we go to the billing desk. He pays for all our purchases and the sales lady tells us that someone will bring the furniture tomorrow. She writes down my phone number, since I decided to work from home, and promises that the store employees will call me before coming up to the apartment. We thank her and leave.

As we climb the stairs to get to our floor I see Christina and Will coming toward us. I remember the fight we had and immediately my mood changes. I look away from her, ignoring her. If she can be a irrational bitch than so can I.

"Hey Tris, Four" Will greets.

"Hello Will, Christina" Tobias says.

"We haven't seen you in a while" Christina says but I still look away. I sense Tobias holding my waist tighter as he goes to answer her.

"We had a lot to do. If you excuse us we need to get home" he says sternly, leaving no room to argue.

"Sure. It was good to see you" Will says.

"You too" Tobias answers.

"Tris?" Christina asks. I ignore her. "Are you mad at me?" she asks uncertain. At that my head snaps in her direction.

"You think?" I ask and start walking upstairs. Tobias is right behind me. The moment I'm inside my home and the door is close I let out a scream of frustration. I breathe heavily, angry at Christina for even asking. She should have known that I will be angry.

"You feel better?" Tobias asks as he wraps his arms gently around me from behind.

"No" I say. He lets go and I immediately miss his touch.

"Maybe this will help" he says handing me a vase. I grab it and look at it. When I raise an eyebrow he chuckles. "Smash it. It might help" he says. I look at the vase again and then push him lightly out of the way. I aim for the door and throw the glass container toward it. It smashes into a million little pieces. For some reason, destroying that piece of glass made my anger go away. "Feel better?" he asks smiling.

"Yeah, a lot actually. How did you know?" I ask curious. I never saw him do that and I never even thought of doing it either.

"Zeke told me that Shauna sometimes got so mad that she looked like she would explode. She picked up whatever she could find threw it at the wall, smashed it and suddenly returned to normal. You were never this upset so I thought might as well try it out" he explains.

"That's a little unorthodox, but I can argue with the results" I say and then I realize something. "Tobias, that was a gift" I say.

"I know, from Caleb and Cara, but let's face it. That was one ugly vase. The only way to get rid of it was to smash it. I wouldn't have forgiven myself if we would have given it to someone else" he says jokingly and we both start laughing. A knock on the door makes us stop and Tobias goes to answer the door.

"Four, is everything alright?" Tori asks. I go to where my husband stands in our doorway to greet our neighbor and friend.

"Yes, Tori. Why wouldn't it be?" he replies.

"Hi, Tori, hi Dwayne" I say as I now see him as well.

"Hi Tris" he greets.

"We heard yelling and then something crashing" Tori says.

"Ah, that was me" I tell them.

"Did Four leave the toilet seat up again?" Tori asks with a chuckle and Tobias frowns.

"Why do people always assume I did something wrong?" he asks with an adorable pout.

"'Cause you are the guy. We are always to blame" Dwayne says with a chuckle.

"Why don't you come in?" I ask them.

"You sure? We don't want to interrupt whatever you were doing" Tori says apprehensive.

"No, it's fine. I had a little argument with Christina a few days ago and just now we ran into her and Will and she pissed me off. Four gave me a vase to smash to calm me down" I explain to our friends as we walk into our living room.

"The ugly Erudite one?" Dwayne asks.

"You told Dwayne about the vase?" I ask Tobias while raising an eyebrow.

"In my defense, babe, I told everyone that the vase is ugly" he replies as he retrieves the broom and dustpan and goes to clean up the mess I made.

"Hon, what if my brother hears that?" I ask.

"Actually, I told him. He said that while he loves Cara he can't comprehend how a sophisticated woman like her can have such a bad taste when it comes to vases" Tobias says with a laugh.

"Maybe she was sending you guys a message?" Tori chimes in.

"I actually asked that" Tobias says coming into the living room and sitting next to me on the couch "but he assured me we aren't the only ones to get ugly gifts. We shouldn't feel offended and he mentioned he wouldn't feel offended if he visited and wouldn't see that vase anywhere near on display" he says and we all start laughing.

"So, you guys are good?" Dwayne asks serious again.

"One hundred and ten percent good" I say.

"I'm glad to hear that. Listen, we wanted to talk to you about something. Things might change for a while and I want you to know" Tori says vaguely.

"What do you mean?" Tobias asks concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing's wrong, it's just in a few months I'll have to take a longer leave" she says.

"Long? How long?" Tobias asks.

"A while, a few months until we are on a schedule" she says still vaguely. "But I can do some of my work from home. I'm sure Tris will do the same" she says looking at me and smiles.

"Are you sick?" Tobias asks and I keep staring at her. I noticed that she keeps holding her stomach.

"No, I'm not sick, I just need the time off because" she says but I interrupt her.

"You're pregnant" I practically shout. She looks at me shocked for a moment and then smiles.

"Yes" she answers.

"Oh my God, congratulations you two" I say and hug her tightly, before doing the same with Dwayne.

"Congratulations" Tobias says and hugs our friends too.

"How did you figure it out?" Dwayne asks.

"Well she kept holding her stomach and when she kept giving evasive answers as to why she needs time off I don't know it just clicked. Why didn't you just tell us? How far along are you? When's your due date?" I ask one question after the other and she starts laughing.

"We didn't really know how to tell you. You are the first to know. You are our closest friends, scratch that you are family" she says and tears gather in her eyes. Dwayne pulls her close to him and rubs her arm.

"Tori is only about a month pregnant and her due date is July 29th" Dwayne offers more information.

"Don't worry about the time off" Tobias says. "Take as much time as you need. Between Connor, Dwayne and myself we will run this place until you and Tris are back."

"Besides we can do some stuff from home and since we are neighbors we can help each other out" I say.

"Of course, we will" Tori agrees.

We spend at least an hour talking mainly about babies and I tell Tori that Tobias and I bought furniture for the nursery, while she tells me that Addison is her OBGYN. The guys decided to leave us in the living room talking while they went outside on the balcony to have a beer and celebrate the good news.

"You sure you are okay?" Tori asks after a while.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I ask confused.

"I never saw you freak out like before" she says.

"It's just stress and hormones" I play it down.

"Tris, you can talk to me. I know we aren't best friends, but I consider you like a younger sister" she says with a kind smile on her face.

"Thank you. I honestly think of you as an older sister" I say.

"Good. Then tell me what's bugging you. The stress can't be good for your son" she says and I know she's right. Maybe I should open up to a woman. Tobias is sweet and tries to help but he doesn't really get it. He is way too protective to even think of talking about things that might upset me.

"It's Christina. We've been friends since the first day here in Dauntless, but every time she comes to me for advice and I make the mistake of giving her one she ignores me and just does whatever the hell she wants. Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset that she makes up her mind. The thing is she doesn't listen. She thinks just because I was Abnegation I don't have a clue. I admit, many things I don't know, but I know her and I would never tell her something if I wouldn't believe it would help her" I tell Tori.

"What exactly happened that you two got into an argument?" she asks. I don't know if I should tell her or not. It's not like Christina told me this in strictest confidence, but I think it's implied. By the long pause Tori must sense that I can't or won't tell her. "Is it because she thinks Will is cheating?" she asks surprising me.

"How did you know about that?" I ask her dumbfounded.

"She told me. She came looking for you in my office yesterday. She told me about your argument and I told her that she is a crappy friend" Tori says seriously.

"You did?"

"Of course. You tried to help her, but she just ignored you. In the end she actually did what you suggested, but she was too proud to come around and tell her that she's sorry and that you helped her more than you know."

"Maybe I shouldn't have been so harsh with her" I say more to myself.

"No, you should be very harsh with her or anyone. Your opinion is as important as anyone else's. Christina wanted relationship advice from you and when you gave it to her she just dismissed it because of her own stupidity. You might have been Abnegation but from all of us you are the one who is happily married. I think getting advice from you is the best thing any of us girls can get" she says and I tear up.

"That's so kind of you to say. I never implied that my relationship is the best, but both Four and I work hard every day. We talk, we discuss our problems, we never go to bed angry. We rather have a fight than ruin our relationship by keeping secrets. As a matter of fact, there are no secrets between us. Whenever one of us has to say something the other takes a step back giving the first enough time to put his or her thoughts in order."

"I think that's a healthy attitude. Dwayne and I talk a lot too. Sometimes we aren't on the same page, but eventually we talk things true. It's not like one of us has more to say in this relationship than the other. We are equals" she says and I nod.

"Who's an equal?" Tobias asks as he and Dwayne return to the living room.

"We are" I say.

"You and Tori or you and me?" he asks.

"All of us, I guess. We are equals as individuals, with the same rights and responsibilities and we as couples; you and me and Tori and Dwayne. No one is better than the other" I explain what I meant. He nods and sits down next to me, placing a soft kiss on my temple while rubbing my belly.

"I think it's time for us to leave" Tori says.

"You don't have to" I argue.

"No, we should go. I have some work to do and I'm sure Dwayne has too. See you later guys" Tori says.

"Yeah. Congratulations again" I say, Tobias walks them out and then returns to the couch.

"How are you feeling?" he asks.

"I'm fine. My back hurts a little."

"You want that massage now?"

"Yeah, but let's go upstairs. The bed is a lot more comfortable than the couch" I say. We get up and walk up the stairs and into our bedroom. While I take off my shoes Tobias closes the curtains and lights a few of our aromatherapy candles. I get rid of my shirt and pants and remain just in my underwear. I lie down on the bed on my left side and put a soft pillow under my belly. I hear rustling but I'm lying to comfortable to move to see what he is doing. A moment later I feel the mattress move and I know he got into bed.

"I brought your vanilla lotion. Do you want another one?" he asks kissing my shoulder.

"No, vanilla is fine" I say. I hear him shuffling and then his hands on me. They are a bit cool from the lotion, but not too much. He starts rubbing it into my skin massaging my back with just enough force to work out the knots. I moan every now and then when he manages to liberate me from a persistent pain and I hear him chuckle every time.

"You know, if you keep moaning the way you do I might have my way with you" he says half joking, half serious. It's been a while since we were intimate, mostly because we had a lot to work and I just didn't feel up to it. I even called Addison to ask if that's normal and she said to not worry. Sometimes my body needs rest, that nothing is wrong with me or our relationship. I told the same thing to Tobias. I noticed he was anxious and worried about the fact that I didn't want to have sex. He told me he thought I didn't want him anymore, that I didn't find him attractive. That made me burst out laughing, stupid I know, and he obviously looked at me like I lost my mind. When I calmed down I assured him that he is the sexiest man alive and that I'll always want him. That I want him all the time, even when I'm not in the mood for sex. That confused him even more I guess, but it's true.

"Maybe if you keep up the good work your doing I might have my way with you" I say and he stops for a moment.

"Really?" he asks surprised.

"Yeah, really."

"Babe, we don't have to if you don't want. I don't want you to do something" he says but I stop him as I turn to look at him.

"Tobias, I want you. I told you that. Sometimes I'm just too tired and the times we didn't do it was because the baby was extra cheerful and made me a little nauseous. It really wasn't you or anything you did. I love you very much" I tell him as I cup his face in my right palm. I now notice he is only wearing his black boxers. "I see you came prepared for battle" I joke.

"Well, you know me, always ready. Only for you" he says as he leans down and kisses me passionately. I moan again, but this time it's because this kiss alone made me wet and ready for him. I want him, I want him so badly.

I lie back as he hovers over me propped up on his left elbow while his right hand starts kneading one of my breasts. He quickly removes my bra to have better access to my boobs and nipples. I'm a whimpering mess when he leaves my lips to kiss along my jaw and neck to my collar bone and then sucks in my right nipple. I arch my back and tangle my fingers into his bushy hair kneading and scratching the scalp in time with his ministrations. He leaves my breasts and kisses his way down to my swollen abdomen. He peppers my tummy with feather-light kisses and whispers to our son.

"Daddy is getting some" he says and smirks. I roll my eyes and hit him lightly over the head for telling that to our unborn son.

He travels further down where I most need him and spreads my legs. I'm dripping wet for him and the anticipation is killing me. He settles at the end of the bed between my legs and removes my soaking wet panties throwing them over his shoulder. I giggle at his action and he grins before flicking his tongue out and relentlessly teasing my clit. I moan and squirm and he has to place his arm over me to keep me down while he slowly starts eating me out. God, how I've missed this. Why again didn't I want sex? He sticks his tongue inside my pussy but it isn't nearly enough.

"More" I whimper.

He retracts his tongue and replaces it with one finger, but it still isn't enough.

"More" I repeat my earlier request.

He inserts a second finger pumping them in and out while lapping at my bundle of nerves. I arch my back and move my hips in sync with his movements. I quickly come and cry out his name while fisting his hair in an effort to keep me sane somehow. He helps me ride out my orgasm before he retracts both his fingers and his mouth from me. I breathe heavily and barely manage to see anything when I feel him lie down next to me.

"Lie on your side, love" he says to me and I do as he asks without as much as a second thought. I feel him position himself at my entrance and lifting my right leg placing it over his hip opening me up to him. He rubs his rock hard cock against my slick folds before slowly pushing inside me and stretching me for the first time in far too long. We both moan at the deep contact and he stills for a moment allowing us both to adjust. But I'm too worked up to wait much longer. I roll my hips and grind against him eliciting a guttural moan from him. He lightly bites my shoulder as he moves his arm underneath mine and grabs my aching boob kneading it thoroughly. He starts rocking in and out and kisses my neck. I turn my head so that I can kiss him and the moment our lips connect we submerge into an ocean of love and lust, forgetting everything around us. All that matters is him and me and right now. He increases his speed and I can feel his dick getting bigger inside me. He is close. But so am I. His hand leaves my boob and travels down my body until it reaches my clit. He starts circling the throbbing nubbin while I grab my breasts and knead them. My release is close and I try to meet each of his thrusts with my own until he hits just the right spot and I come with a loud cry. As his name leaves my lips I feel himself pound hard before he stiffens and spills his seed deep inside me. He moans my name and holds me close to him in a bone-crushing hug, but I welcome it.

We both breathe heavily as we come down from our high and although I love to feel him inside me I turn around and detach myself from him in an effort to capture his lips. The kiss is slow, but filled with love and devotion.

"I love you, Tobias" I say.

"I love you, too, Tris. Thank you" he says.

"No need to thank me, baby. This was long overdue" I say with a chuckle and he kisses me again. Not long after we go for round two and before supper there is even a round three. I have really missed this.


	94. Chapter 94

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the delay. Just wanted you to know that I reached the NaNoWriMo goal of 50K words on November 19th, but the story still isn't finished. I just posted chapter 28, for those who want to read it.
> 
> I also wrote a one-shot called Not the end for us. Check it out and share your thoughts.
> 
> For the guest who asked how far along Tris is - 21 weeks.

94

I wake up happy and refreshed. I feel like I was awake for far too long and finally caught up on much needed sleep. I'm lying on my side and I can feel Tobias' hot breath on my neck. He is deep asleep and naked pressed against me. I smile at the memory of last night. Oh no. I need to pee. No, I can hold it. I don't want to wake Tobias and I don't want to leave our warm bed. I can hold it. I can hold it. I can't hold it. God damn it. I try to escape Tobias' firm grip but every time I think I'm out he pulls me back. I groan.

"Tobias" I whine and he wakes up with a start.

"What? What is it? Is it the baby?" he asks alerted.

"I need to pee and you keep pulling me back" I say frustrated and he lets go of me. I hurry to the bathroom and manage to sit down on the toilet before I wet myself. I swear, it seems like I'm peeing for five whole minutes before I'm finally done. I decide to take a shower. I turn on the water to heat up and get some towels and my bathrobe closer for me to reach when I get out. Just as I want to get inside Tobias walks in and places a kiss on my cheek.

"May I join you?" he asks.

"Sure." I grab his hand and pull him inside. I stand under the warm stream for a moment and then grab my body wash. I want to pour some into my palms but Tobias takes the bottle from me.

"Let me" he says and kisses my shoulder from where he stands behind me. I happily give it to him and he soon starts to rub the slick gel over my body. "Should we call your parents and mom? You know to tell them we picked a name?" he asks and I can hear the excitement in his voice. Last night Tobias woke me up because he decided to have a little chat with our son. Since I couldn't go back to sleep right away we talked and decided on a name for our sweet little baby. Andrew Evan, Andrew after my father and Evan after Tobias' mother.

"Yeah, but let's invite them over for lunch or something" I suggest.

"I think that would be better. This is something they should hear from us in person, not over the phone" he agrees. "Besides this way they can see the nursery all painted and filled with the furniture."

"Yeah, that would be nice. Before I forget. While I haven't said anything yesterday I decided to bake some cake for our friends for helping us yesterday. Without them we would still have a bunch of work to do" I tell him. As promised, the children's store delivered the furniture the following day and Tobias talked to our friends to help us set it all up. They were all here, including Will and Christina, but we avoided talking any delicate topic as long as so many ears where around. However, I asked her to stop by on Monday, which is tomorrow so that I can have that talk with her. She agreed and gave me a weak smile.

"How many cakes do you want to bake?" he asks.

"One for each of them" I say and he stills for a moment.

"What? That's a lot of cakes" he says.

"It won't be a big cake, a smaller version of Dauntless cake. Do you really think I have that much time and patience to bake what, ten cakes?" I ask looking over my shoulder to see him.

"Ten? Why ten? I get six, but why ten?" he asks confused.

"While Uriah, Marlene, Lynn and Vicky couldn't stay that long I'm still going to bake one for each. Don't worry, the cakes will be a little bigger than a cupcake. I think I can put three at once in the oven" I say as I turn around and rub some of his gel on his rock-hard body. God, I love the way he feels underneath my fingertips.

"Okay. I will cook then, but first I'll call our parents and see if they can make it for lunch or supper" he tells me.

"Do that. Do you want me to make a Dauntless cake for dessert or something else."

"Whatever you want, baby. But I guess Dauntless cake would be the best option. You would already have all the ingredients."

"I think so too. Dauntless cake it is" I say and we share a sweet kiss.

We finish in the shower and head into our bedroom. While I put my clothes on he is calling his mother to see if she can come over later and decides to make a conference call to talk to my parents at the same time.

"Hey, mom, Andrew" he says. "Tris and I were wondering if you guys have any plans for lunch or supper. I know it's short notice, but we would like to spend the day with you" he says smiling. He is only wrapped in a towel, while he walks around the room talking on the phone. I decide to grab some briefs from his underwear drawer and just as I reach out to grab the towel he turns around and faces me. He gives me an inquisitive look that soon turns into a wide grin and I shake my head with a smile. My sexy husband thinks I'm going to devour him, but unfortunately if we want to be ready by the time our parents arrive I need to start baking. I let the wet towel fall to the ground and hand him the briefs. He nods and puts them on while listening to whoever is speaking at the moment. I decide to put on some dark gray knitted leggings and a wide dark gray maternity sweater that covers my butt. I put my fluffy house boots on Tobias got me a few days ago, because I was complaining that my feet were cold and head downstairs after pecking his cheek. I can't imagine what our parents discuss so much over the phone. I smile to myself and make my way to the kitchen.

About ten minutes later I'm ready to put the first batch into the oven when Tobias comes down the stairs dressed in a pair of black sweat pants and black long sleeve shirt. He kisses my cheek and puts an apron on.

"What are you going to make?" I ask him.

"Stew. Your dad loves it and I don't want them to feel uncomfortable."

"Okay. Hon?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but we've been postponing this conversation a while now" I say. He sighs. He already knows what I mean.

"There's no chance you'll forget about it?" he asks and I give him a shy smile. "Alright. What do you want to talk about?"

"Your father" I say and he groans. "I've been thinking. Is there any chance your dad could be like me? Did he ever mention anything like this or did he, I don't know, behave oddly?" I ask.

"You mean more odd than beating me for the sake of making me better?" he asks bitter.

"That's not what I meant, honey, and you know it" I say a little frustrated.

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't remember anything of that sort. Why? You think he is like you?"

"I don't know. I already told you that unless he is aware of my ability and knew that I was sitting right next to him when he made that confession, I think he was genuine."

"Let's assume you are right, that he is sorry for what he did. Nothing's changed. He still beat mom and me, he still made her leave, he still lied to everyone. That doesn't change."

"I know and I won't pretend that it will. I'm just intrigued by the change of heart and more importantly by what he did when he could have mended things. I think it has something to do with Edward. Maybe he helps him maybe he doesn't. I don't know. But maybe we should talk to him."

"To Marcus?" he asks turning to look at me with a shocked expression on his face.

"Yeah. I can't rummage through his mind because of Andy" I say and rub my belly. Tobias stops what he was doing and places his right hand over my abdomen.

"You won't do that, are we clear?" he asks sternly. Usually I would kick his ass for telling me what to do, but he is right. I won't risk my son because of Marcus.

"Of course we are. But since we can't use my ability to find out things maybe we should try it the old fashion way."

"If you expect me to talk to him you couldn't be more wrong" he says.

"I'm not expecting it at all, I'm just saying. I was just wondering if there is any chance he could be put under truth serum without him knowing" I say.

"I don't understand."

"Well, usually all the serums are injected, except for one" I say and look at him. Maybe he figures it out.

"Peace serum" he answers.

"Exactly" I say nodding. "Maybe there's a way to administer it orally."

"Do you think this could work?"

"I'm not sure, but it's worth a shot."

"How exactly can we find out?" he asks me as he resumes his task.

"I'm going to call Jack after I'm done with the cakes. I'll ask if anyone ever administered the truth serum orally and if not if he could find out if that's possible" I say as I check on my cakes.

"Why him?"

"Well, it can't be me. Truth serum is Candor's serum, not ours. It's going to be odd anyway, but if a Dauntless asks that question how many flags do you think will go up?" I ask him.

"True. By the way, when do you plan on giving the cakes away?" he asks.

"Later tonight. After our parents leave I'm going to ask our friends to stop by so that we can share the news with them also. I want them to know that we have picked out a name for our little bundle of joy" I say rubbing my stomach and laughing lightly.

"I think that's a good idea. How about you send them a text or something?" he asks.

"Good idea. If I start calling all of them I won't finish the cakes" I say.

For the next two hours we work in the kitchen, I mostly sit at the island preparing the cakes for our friends while Tobias runs around. My feet are killing me and my back is not fun either. As the time for my parents' and Evelyn's arrival approaches Tobias sets the table, even though I said I could do it. In the end I know he's right.

"Why don't you lie down for a bit?" he asks caressing my cheek.

"No, I should change into some other clothes. You too."

"Yeah, you're right. Come on. There are still twenty minutes left until the next batch is ready" he says. We both go into our bedroom, change clothes but decide on something comfortable. It's a family gathering, nothing fancy. As on cue the moment we return downstairs the doorbell rings and Tobias hurries to open the door.

"Hi, mom" he says and hugs Evelyn tightly. I'm so happy that he has at least his mother back in his life.

"Hello, sweetie" she says and kisses his cheeks. When she sees me she smiles and walks over to me. "Hello, sweetheart" she says and hugs me as well.

"Hi, Evelyn. How are you?" I ask her.

"I'm fine. How are you? Did you faint anymore?" she asks, worry crossing her face.

"No, I'm fine and the little guy is fine too" I say holding my stomach.

"That's good. So what's the occasion?" she asks.

"We'll get to that when Natalie and Andrew arrive" Tobias says coming over and taking Evelyn's coat.

"I hope there's nothing bad" she says apprehensive.

"No, mom, don't worry. Everything's fine" Tobias reassures her and kisses her cheek. It's so adorable to watch my husband interact with his mother. He missed her and he missed being like this, sweet and loving. He is like that with me all the time, but he always felt that emptiness when it came to Evelyn. He wanted her in his life, despite everything. I'm glad they found each other again and that Evelyn is now part of our life.

"Can I offer you a cup of tea or coffee?" I ask my mother-in-law.

"Tea is fine, thank you, Tris" she says smiling.

"Coming right up" I say.

"It's okay, I'll get it. You want some tea too?" Tobias asks.

"Yes, please." The doorbell rings again and I walk toward it to open it. For once Tobias doesn't argue. He knows I hate it when he makes me feel useless. So, every now and then I'm "allowed" to perform small tasks. I open the door to find my parents standing there in their warm, gray clothes. I smile at them and they smile back.

"Hi, mom, dad" I say and wrap my arms around both of them.

"Hello, sweetie" mom says.

"Hello, baby girl" dad says.

"Please, come in. Make yourselves at home. Evelyn is already here" I say and get their coats. I deposit them in the small closet under the stairs, just where Tobias took Evelyn's coat and invite them to sit in the living room.

"Now that Natalie and Andrew are here, are we finally getting to know why you called us over?" Evelyn asks.

I look toward my husband who just removed another batch from the oven and put in the last one. He nods and comes over to where I'm standing in the living room with our parents.

"Tobias and I decided on a name for our son" I say smiling. At that all three of them grin widely.

"What is it?" mom asks anxious.

"Andrew Evan Eaton" Tobias says proudly. At the mention that our little boy will be named after my father he chokes up and even sheds a few tears.

"You're naming your son after me?" he asks still unbelieving.

"Of course, Andrew. I respect and love you so much" Tobias says walking over to my father who stood up from where he was sitting on the couch. "You showed me what a good father is and while I'm not your son you let me into your family, you allowed me to marry your daughter and you treated me like an equal, not like someone who is damaged and unworthy" Tobias says.

"Tobias, don't say that. Of course you are worthy and never once did I think you are damaged. I could see from the very beginning how much you love Beatrice and how much she loves you back. While I'm not your father I do consider you like my son. And let me tell you this. I couldn't be more proud and honored to have you as my son-in-law. I love you, son."

"I love you too, Andrew" Tobias replies with tears in his eyes.

"If it's not too much asked I would like you to call me dad" dad says and surprises us all.

"Are you sure?" Tobias asks.

"Of course, I am. I wanted to ask you to a while ago, but I didn't think you would want that. You can refuse it of course. Just know that you'll always have a father in me."

"Thank you so much, dad" Tobias says a little awkward.

"I would tell you to call me mom, but you already have one" mom says.

"He does, but you are just as much a mom to him as I am now" Evelyn says.

"In that case, if you like, Tobias, you can call me mom."

"And you, Tris, can call me mom" Evelyn says to me.

"Oh my God, you guys, can you be anymore adorable? You know my hormones make me go nuts. Do you want me to cry a river here?" I say and feel tears streaming down my cheeks.

We all share a hug and tell each other how much we love the others. I'm so happy my parents love Tobias. I had my doubts in the beginning regarding my father, but especially after Tobias' interrogation under truth serum dad and everyone present that day learned of who Marcus Eaton really is and what he has done to his family. I know Tobias still fears to become just like his own father, but I know in my heart that he is a much better man than his father could ever hope for. Marcus beat up Tobias to be better. Well, he is better, but not because of the beatings, but because of the fact the he is genuinely good and kind, even though he doesn't see that. Tobias will make a great dad, there is no doubt in my mind about that.

Our meal is delicious thanks to the awesome cooking skills of my awesome husband. The company is lovely too. After we ate lunch Tobias and I decided to show our parents the nursery. Mom and Evelyn admired it and said they couldn't wait to see little Andrew in his crib. Dad and Tobias started talking about some security measures to prevent our son from getting hurt, but that won't happen for a while now. I foresee long discussions with Tobias regarding this particular subject: safety. If he's half as paranoid with our kids as he is with me the poor babies will be wrapped up in thick layers to prevent them getting hurt. Tobias made it up in his mind that if our son or any child we might have in the future gets hurt he would be to blame. I tried to talk to him, but when he goes into protective daddy mode it's like talking to a wall. A handsome, but dumb wall. I roll my eyes at him and he notices.

"What? I just want Andy to be safe" he says raising an eyebrow.

"And he will be. Just because he will occasionally get hurt doesn't mean you don't love him. I got hurt all the time. Doesn't mean my folks don't love me."

"I don't remember ever seeing you hurt" Evelyn says. "I know you got sick a lot."

"Oh, but she got hurt" mom says smiling.

"Yes, Evelyn, I don't think there is a bone in her body that wasn't broken" dad says. At that both Tobias and Evelyn look at us with wide eyes.

"Well, I was a wild kid. Abnegation wasn't really my thing. I always climbed buildings or trees or went where I wasn't supposed to go, like the old library and the City Hall or the museum."

"I don't think there was a week when Beatrice came home without even a bruised rib" dad says with a chuckle.

"How can you talk so relaxed about these things?" Tobias asks incredulous.

"You get used to it, son. If your children are anything like Beatrice was as a child they will get hurt all the time."

"That's what I said. But he freaks out" I say and walk passed them. It's lovely to be in my son's room, but there are no chairs here and my feet hurt. I walk back downstairs and go into the kitchen. I take out the cake I baked for us to eat and cut several slices. Mom and Evelyn come and help me while I tell dad and Tobias to sit down in the living room. They are still talking about safety measures when we join them.

"Tris, I knew you liked to explore, but I had no idea you were such a bad kid" Tobias says with a chuckle.

"What? Who said I was bad? I was a jewel of a kid. Right, daddy?" I ask in a sweet voice and dad chuckles.

"Of course, you were" he says.

"Tobias, relax. Kids will get hurt" mom says. "Trust me, after you rush your three year old daughter to the emergency room because she climbed the house, again, and broke her collar bone you start to not freak out for every bruise you find."

"That true?" he asks.

"No, you will always freak out, because you love your children, but Beatrice is right" dad says patting Tobias' shoulder. "You can't blame yourself. Take it from me. I scolded her, I punished her, I yelled at her, I even stopped talking to her. Of course, it never lasted too long because either I missed her too much or she behaved, at least for a while. But whenever I thought that phase was over she surprised me with a new broken bone. I know I was upset when she chose Dauntless, but I think in my heart I knew that she didn't belong in Abnegation. Don't get me wrong, she is one of the most selfless people I know and I'm so terribly proud of her, but she has this fire burning inside her that wants to know everything and to explore each corner of this city and possibly the world beyond the wall."

"When did she stop being like that?" Evelyn asks as she takes a bite.

"She didn't" my parents and Tobias say at the same time. We all start laughing. I sit up from where I was sitting on the love seat next to mom and squeeze myself between dad and Tobias on the couch.

"Look, honey, I know you think that you fail our kids if you let them get hurt, but sometimes that's exactly what they need to learn. I can tell you out of experience that no matter how much my parents insisted I never learned my lesson until I got hurt and sometimes really bad. If you choose to restrict our kids they will rebel. Trust me, I know. We'll teach them right from wrong and if they don't get it I'll punish them, since I know you won't."

"How will you do that?" he asks apprehensive. We never discussed that.

"I'll take away something they want, like a toy or dessert. But I will also show them what their recklessness could cause. I will take them to all the places I explored and explain what I experienced. Although, maybe by the time they are old enough to be as stupid as I was those places won't exist anymore" I say and he gives me a questioning look.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"Thanks to some open-minded people on the council I managed to start a rehabilitation program throughout the city. The faction less will get jobs to restore old buildings, such as the museum, the library and the city hall. Even if those buildings won't be used for anything other than a reminder of times long passed it will help us rebuild our city, create new jobs and give the faction less purpose. They won't feel like failures, those in the factions who are still reluctant to except change won't complain about donating stuff and when the city looks better they will definitely see that change is good" I say enthusiastic.

"You really thought this through" Tobias says and kisses my cheek.

"Well, I had many years to think about it. There is so much we can learn from the past, but we can't as long as it's buried under tons of rubble. The faction less will slowly restore living quarters and then public domain. This will allow us all to live more comfortable."

"I'm sorry I ever doubted you, baby girl" my dad says.

"It's okay, dad. I mean, I get it. It's a lot easier to live by the rules and not try out new things. I'm not saying this to offend you or anything, but it's hard to get out of your comfort zone and try out new things. I'm the same, but there are things worth the risk and I believe helping our society out of this phase of evolutionary standstill into progress is worth the work and effort. And as far as I can see I'm not the only one. Evelyn wanted this for years, but her plan was a bit too radical" I say and look at my mother-in-law. She smiles, but I can tell she is a little embarrassed.

"It's okay, mom. We all learn and I have to admit, Tris is visionary. She doesn't just see the near future but a future past our lives. She works so hard to make this a better place not for us necessarily but for our children" Tobias says praising me.

"Okay, stop it, honey. You're making me blush."

"Just telling the truth" he says and pecks my cheek.

We spend the next hour talking some more about what I have in mind for the city, but the subject quickly changes to Andy and future babies. I swear, I'm still pregnant with this one and my mother and mother-in-law plan the next few. Whatever that means.

After our parents finally left it was almost time for supper. Since I asked our friends to stop by after six p.m. the first guests arrived just as I was about to head to the bathroom. I swear, Andy must be using my bladder as a pillow. I chuckle to myself and hurry to the bathroom downstairs. When I get out I find my friends gathered in our living room.

"There she is" Shauna says.

"So, what's this news you have for us?" Zeke asks curious.

"Tris and I had a long talk the other night about baby names" Tobias starts saying.

"Don't tell me you picked one?" Tori asks.

"As a matter of fact we did" I say. I look up at Tobias and he smiles.

"We decided to call our son Andrew Evan. Andrew after my father-in-law and Evan after my mother, Evelyn" Tobias explains.

"That's such a good name" Marlene says. "I like it very much."

"Yeah, me too" Christina says and I smile at her.

Our friends congratulate us and hug us and tell us what great parents we will be and offer to help us out whenever we need them.

"Tris, I know this is your announcement, but would you mind if Dwayne and I announce our pregnancy? We haven't told anyone, but I think this is as good a time as any" Tori says whispering into my ear so that only I can hear her.

"No, I think it's great. We are all family. Go ahead" I encourage her. She walks over to Dwayne and whispers to him something, probably telling him about their own announcement. I call Tobias over and give him a quick heads up and he smiles nodding his approval.

"Excuse me everyone, we have also an announcement to make" Dwayne says and everyone stops talking.

"We're going to be parents" Tori says excited and our friends burst out in a new round of congratulations and hugs. I watch Christina and Will from across the room. They whisper to each other and I can tell they are discussing something. Christina shakes her head and runs her left hand through her hair. And then is when I notice it. A ring. An engagement ring on her finger. I get up from the love seat where I was sitting and cross the room so quickly that I think I even reached speed of light. I grab her hand and look at it. It is. It's an engagement ring. She looks from her hand to me and smiles shyly.

"I wanted to tell you in private. I wanted you to know first. You are my best friend and I'm sorry I treated you so badly. You were right. I should have listened to you instead of acting like a spoiled brat" she says quickly, as if she is afraid if she doesn't say it quickly enough I won't listen to her.

"It's okay" I say.

"No, it's not. You always supported me and I treated you like crap. That's not fair and I'm sorry" she says.

"Chris, we'll talk about it tomorrow alone. Today let us celebrate this" I say pointing at her ring finger.

"That's what I said" Will says from behind her. He kept quiet allowing us to have our little talk, but we both know there is more to talk about than this.

"Go ahead, tell our friends the good news."

"Excuse me" Will says. "But Chris and I have also an announcement to make."

"Don't tell me you are having a baby too" Uriah says raising an eyebrow.

"No" Christina says and looks up at Will. "Together?" she asks and he nods.

"We're getting married" they say.


	95. Chapter 95

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi initiates. A few things before you can read the chapter. VERY IMPORTANT: is there anything in this story you feel I haven't explained or answered? Please tell me so that I can revise it and give you your answers.
> 
> I've posted several things this week. First a sad one-shot called Not the end for us, a new smut-shot in the Kinky Events Series and I started a new multi-chapter AU story, Conquer Yourself. Needless to say go and check them out, right?
> 
> I am almost done with my original novel, I'm currently struggling with the last chapter. If any of you read it I would love your opinions using my Tumblr christiwind . tumblr . com (no spaces).
> 
> Also, I'm glad that this chapter is kind of in time for Thanksgiving!

Chapter 95

Thanksgiving is here. This year we decided to celebrate together with my parents, Evelyn, Hana, Zeke, Shauna, Uriah and Marlene. Will and Christina were invited by my brother and Cara and Monica will celebrate Thanksgiving with Phil and his family and Tori and Dwayne just wanted to be by themselves, especially since her morning sickness is making her miserable at this time. I remember that time. Wasn't the best part of my pregnancy, but I'll take that any day for the miracle inside me. Lynn and Vicky just wanted to be by themselves and go clubbing later tonight. Oh, well, maybe next year we can all be together. Evelyn, mom and Hana came early to help me prepare the meal for later today.

After the big announcements a few weeks ago Christina and I sat down and talked. We both apologized and decided that from now on we would listen to the other before jumping to conclusions and get upset with each other. I feel like we had a real talk for once. I mean, yeah we talk a lot and about serious things too, but I feel this is the first time we opened up to the other without fearing being judged or misunderstood. It felt great. She is my best friend, even more, like a sister. I love her very much and it really hurt me that I couldn't speak to her.

"So, what are the ladies doing?" Uriah asks coming into my kitchen.

"Cooking" Shauna replies sarcastically and Marlene snickers.

"Okay. I could see that. I just wanted to know what we're getting to eat?" he asks with a smirk. I know what this is about.

"There will be cake too" I say and he smiles widely.

"That's all I needed to hear" he says and we laugh.

"Where's Hunter?" Shauna asks looking toward the empty living room. Our men were just there. Where are they?

"Uncle Four is showing him the birdies" he answers and I get curious. I walk toward the balcony door, making sure not make myself noticed by the guys who are looking over the city. Dad and Zeke are talking to each other, while Tobias holds Hunter in his arms and tells him something funny which makes the baby laugh. I smile to myself and rub my belly. He's going to be such a wonderful father.

"Isn't he adorable?" Evelyn asks next to me. I startle a little, not expecting anyone close to me. I look around and apparently all the women joined me.

"My son or yours?" Shauna asks with a chuckle.

"Well yours is adorable by default, being a baby and all" Evelyn says smiling. "But I actually meant mine" she clarifies.

"He's going to be a great dad" Hana comments.

"I agree" mom says.

"Hey Four" Uriah says in a sing-song voice as he exits the room and goes to join the men. Tobias turns around confused at first but smiles when he spots me only to look surprised toward all the women staring at him. "You are so adorable" Uriah says teasingly. At that Tobias looks first confused than glares at our friend before punching him in the arm. "Ow" Uriah cries out. Hunter starts laughing hysterically and dad and Zeke join the little boy. Tobias hands Hunter over to his father who shows him off, for the millionth time, to my father.

"What are you ladies doing?" Tobias asks with a grin.

"Admiring your daddy skills" Marlene says and Tobias blushes a little.

"You saw that, huh?" he says rubbing the back of his neck a little embarrassed.

"No need to be embarrassed, sweetie" Hana says.

"Yes, son. If you are half as caring and sweet with your kids as you are with your best friends', although I'm sure you'll be twice as good with your own, than you'll make a great dad" mom says praising my husband, making him blush really bad.

"I just know what kind of father I don't want to be" he replies. I walk closer to him and grab his hand in mine squeezing it tightly in reassurance.

"Mom's right. You'll be the best dad our kids could possibly want" I say and stand on my tip-toes to press a gentle kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you" he whispers. Just then Andy kicks and I put his hands over where I felt the movement. His face automatically lights up like every time he feels our son kick.

"Okay, stop it you too" Shauna says. "I'm getting diabetes watching you" she says and everyone starts laughing.

"Can I help you with anything?" Tobias asks no one in particular.

"No, thank you, son" mom says.

"Actually" I say and he looks down.

"Crackers?" he asks and I shake my head no. "Fudge?" I shake my head again. He frowns. "Marshmallows?" I nod. He smiles. "I'll be right back" he says kissing my lips softly.

"Could you also check if there's enough beer and soda?" I ask.

"Sure." He goes to the storage area where we keep everything and returns to the kitchen. "I should buy some more. Hey, Uri. Come and help" he orders.

"You're not my boss" Uri says protesting. Tobias raises an eyebrow.

"I'm one of your leaders" he replies.

"So? Still not the boss of me."

"Uri, be a lamb and help Four" Hana says.

"But mom" Uriah whines making the women laugh a little.

"Don't be a baby" Hana scolds.

"Yeah, Uri. Even Hunter here isn't as whiny as you are" Zeke teases coming in, joined by my dad.

"Why is everyone ganging up on me?" Uriah asks with a pout.

"Uriah" I say in a calm voice. They all look at me. "Four might not be your boss, but I am" I say and he opens his mouth to protest. "I am a leader also, but right now I'm a pregnant woman who wants her marshmallows. So, if you don't shut the hell up and stop the whining and help Four with the groceries I guarantee you there will be no more Dauntless cake in Dauntless" I say and his eyes widen. I decide to take it a little further. "Ever." At that Uriah runs out the front door and leaves it open for my husband to join him.

"Four, you coming? Your wife wants her marshmallows" he says, his voice further and further away. Tobias chuckles and looks my way.

"You're going to be an awesome mom" he says and I blush. He leaves and everyone starts laughing.

"That was amazing" Shauna says.

"Eh, if Uriah acts like a child I'll treat him like one. Besides, it has it's perks being one of the leaders."

"You wouldn't really make Dauntless cake disappear from the menu?" Zeke asks half amused, half serious.

"Try me" I say and he swallows hard.

"I take back everything I ever said about Four" he says and I look at him questioningly. "Forget Four being scary, you are way scarier. You're going to make the initiates next year shit their pants" he says with a laugh.

"I hope so" I say laughing with him. We all resume our tasks, well the women, the men are in the living room talking and watching Hunter crawling around.

When Tobias and Uriah return they deposit the drinks in the storage area and Tobias brings me my marshmallows.

"Can we talk?" he asks whispering in my ear. A shiver runs down my spine and I shake my head a little to clear it.

"Sure." We go upstairs to our bedroom and close the door to have some privacy. "What's up?" I ask eating my third marshmallow. Tobias looks at me and smiles when he sees that I already dug in.

"When I was at the store I got a phone call from Jack getting back to me about what we discussed" he says, his voice low.

"You mean about the truth serum?" I ask and he nods. "And?"

"He contacted Samantha to discuss the matter in strictest confidence, not revealing our names at all, he assured me of that." I nod in understanding and wait for him to continue. "While it's not uncalled of, injecting the serum directly into the blood stream makes it work quicker and there are less side effects than drinking it" he explains.

"But it is possible" I say and he nods.

"He told me he got a vial from her and will bring it over to us tomorrow. We just need to figure out how to do this."

"Don't worry. I have a plan. You don't have to be present at all for that" I tell him in an effort to reassure him.

"I can't leave you alone with him. What if he hurts you?" Tobias says sternly and I can see the worry in his eyes.

"Honey, if Marcus wanted to hurt me he already would've. Besides I want you to install a security camera in my office, but hide it. Hook it up to your computer and you can monitor the meeting without being present. I want to know what is going on with Marcus and with you in the room, even under truth serum, we might not get to the bottom of this. Truth serum makes you answer honestly it can't force you to reveal things if you're not asked. I need to stay focused."

"But it could be dangerous for you and Andy" he argues.

"I already talked to Addison about it" I say and his eyes widen. "I didn't give her details. I just told her I need to interrogate someone and it has to be me. She told me that I need to monitor both my and the baby's vitals to make sure the stress level doesn't affect me in a negative way. She suggested I should get in touch with the chief of staff of our infirmary. So, that's what I did. Dr. Morris told me that we have indeed a portable prenatal monitor for mother and child that he will bring to me. I haven't seen it yet, but he promised he would personally bring it to me and teach me how to use it. The monitor will send its feed directly to a computer of my choosing. You will be able to monitor me and the baby and make sure we are fine. Sound good?" I ask him hopeful.

"You know, you would have made a damn fine Erudite" he says with a crooked smile.

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't have met you and fallen for you and this" I say caressing my swollen tummy "wouldn't be possible."

"That's true." He bends forward and kisses me gently, but I soon part my lips and our kiss turns passionate and we almost get carried away when we hear a knock on our door. Tobias curses softly and I chuckle.

"You alright in there?" I hear Evelyn.

"Yeah, mom. We're fine." He pecks my lips one more time before he lets go of me and opens the door.

"You sure?" Evelyn raises an eyebrow, but smiles warmly at us.

"Yeah. I just received some news regarding the faction and I had to bring Tris up to date" he lies.

"Oh, alright" she says but I can tell she doesn't quite believe it. However, she doesn't say anything else and leaves us.

"She didn't buy that, did she?" he asks me grabbing my hand in his.

"Nope."

By late afternoon everything is set on the dining room table. Shauna gave Hunter a bottle about half an hour ago and I told her to put him to sleep in the nursery while we eat. That way she can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner and he can have a nice, quiet nap. The food is delicious, the company is entertaining and we discuss all kinds of things, from changes throughout the city to some plans the guys have to go paintballing again.

"I can't wait for you to have the baby" Shauna says.

"Me neither" I say.

"You don't get it" she says smiling and I look at her curiously. "After you give birth and recover we can go paintballing with the guys again. And kick their asses again" she says and both Marlene and I laugh.

"Hey. Who says you are going to beat us?" Zeke says defensive.

"We're better, smarter, faster and prettier" Shauna replies. "Perfect combo to kick ass." Everyone at the table laughs, even the guys.

"So, what is everyone thankful for?" Hana asks.

"Shouldn't we have done this before we ate?" Uriah asks his mom, as he stuffs himself with Dauntless cake.

"It's never too late to give thanks."

"Hana is right" dad says. "I am thankful that my family and friends are healthy and happy."

"I am thankful that my babies found their place in our society and became such wonderful human beings" mom says.

"I am thankful for my two sons, their significant others and my adorable little grandchild" Hana says.

"I'm thankful that even while Zeke and I aren't married we got so much support from all our loved ones" Shauna says.

"I'm thankful for Shauna and Hunter and of course Ma and Uri and Marlene" Zeke says looking toward his brother.

"I'm thankful that I have such a great and rewarding job, a great boyfriend, even though he acts like a dumb kid sometimes" Marlene says and we laugh, while Uriah pouts.

"Well, I'm thankful for Tris' Dauntless cake. I swear girl, that's the best Dauntless cake I've ever eaten" he says and we all laugh harder.

"I'm thankful that my son allowed me to be part of his life again and in addition my daughter-in-law opened her home and heart to me and allows me to meet my grandchildren" Evelyn says and I see tears glistening in her eyes.

"I'm thankful for having my mom back, for gaining two other parents who love me and I love them back very much, for my beautiful wife and the little miracle she's carrying. I couldn't be happier and more thankful than in this moment" Tobias says and kisses my temple.

"I'm thankful for all my family, because all of you are part of my family. Whether we are related by blood, marriage or just a profound friendship we are all family. I'm grateful that Four chose me and that he decided to share his life with me. I'm thankful for my little baby boy whom I will meet soon but more importantly, in this moment, I'm grateful there's a bathroom downstairs" I say and get up quickly rushing toward the bathroom. I hear my family laugh. Geez, my son must be sleeping on my bladder or something. I finish up in the bathroom and return to the dining room.

"Better?" Tobias asks smiling.

"Yeah. I think your son mistakes my bladder with his pillow" I say as I sit down next to my husband.

"Is that how it's going to be?" he asks and I raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Whenever he does something that displeases you he is my son and when he is good he is yours?" he asks teasingly.

"Yup" I say and our parents and friends laugh.

"Oh, boy" he says.

"You can say that loud again" Zeke chimes in. "I'm an expert on how Hunter is my son when he screws up. And the best part: it gets only better" he adds and Shauna smacks him over the arm, but all in good fun.

The men clear the table and clean up the kitchen, allowing us women to sit in the living room enjoying some hot tea or coffee while talking about all kinds of things. Marlene and Shauna talk about a shopping trip they planned for the weekend, mom, Hana and Evelyn talk about some new recipes and I just rub my belly and look around, happy to enjoy my family.

"Next year you'll be here with us celebrating" I tell my little boy. "I can't wait to hold you in my arms, my little miracle."

"Me neither" Tobias says softly as he kneels down in front of the couch where I'm sitting. The rest of the men join us, dad sitting next to mom on the love seat, while Uriah, Zeke and Tobias just sit down on the fluffy living room carpet.

We spend another few hours together, just enjoying this wonderful day until one by one all of them leave our apartment. It's almost nine p.m. anyway. Tobias offered to drive my parents and his mom home, even though all three of them argued that he should stay put. He wouldn't hear it and now I'm waiting for his return.

As I make my way to the kitchen to get another slice of Dauntless cake my phone rings. At first I think it's Tobias but the caller ID shows Samantha's name and number. I immediately pick up, knowing that she wouldn't call on a holiday or this late at night if it weren't important.

"Sam, hello" I greet.

"Hi, Tris. Sorry for bothering you this late and on a holiday" she says apologetically.

"It's okay. You know you can call any time" I tell her hoping to reassure her.

"I wouldn't have called if it weren't important."

"I figured. What happened?" I ask cutting to the chase.

"The guy we were looking for, the one with the one eye" she starts saying and I instantly know to who she is referring.

"Edward. What about him?" I ask anxiously.

"He was spotted in Erudite. We just got a quick look at him, but he is definitely here."

"Did anyone see him or was he caught on one of the cameras?" I ask. A few weeks ago new cameras with a better facial recognition software where installed everywhere in the city under the pretext that they were updated, so that no one would be suspicious about it. The idea was that Dauntless would do the surveillance, as we do it here in the compound and throughout the city, but until now the factions had their own security. The new surveillance system, besides its obvious purpose also offers new jobs for the initiates next year, but also for those who want to change from their previous jobs to this one.

"He was caught on camera, but then he disappeared. We checked the area, making sure it wouldn't look suspicious. There's a dead angle between an apartment hallway and the staircase. We can't just go knock on people's doors without reason. We installed a secondary camera to get a better angle. If Edward is in one of the apartments he will eventually have to get out, since it's one the seventh floor. He can't just jumped out a window. If he used the staircase he can be anywhere by now."

"I'll send you a special undercover detail to help with the search as we discussed" I tell her. Several weeks ago I had this talk with all the faction leaders. They all agreed that when the time comes they will let us know of Edward's whereabouts and allow us to send a special tactical team to ensure everyone's safety and arrest Edward.

"Thank you. If I find out anything else I'll let you know."

"Thank you, Sam, and I'm sorry this had to happen today."

"It's okay, Tris. Better we catch this delinquent sooner rather than later" she says and I agree.

"I'll get back to you" I say and hang up. I dial Dwayne's number, since he is in charge of the security personnel. I wait for him to pick up and he does so after the third ring.

"Hello, Tris" he greets.

"Hi, Dwayne. I'm sorry for calling this late. Samantha, the Erudite leader, just called me. Edward was spotted on one of the cameras" I say.

"Are you at home?" he asks.

"Yes."

"I'll be right over" he says and hangs up before I can say it's not necessary. I hear his front door open and close and make my way to mine when it suddenly opens. I could have sworn I locked it. But then I see Tobias.

"What happened?" he asks alerted.

"Sam just called me" I say and Dwayne follows inside.

"What did she want?" Tobias asks.

"Edward was spotted on one of the cameras, but there was a dead angle and Sam doesn't know if he is hiding in one of the seventh floor apartments or if he used the staircase to get out. She told me they already installed a secondary camera just in case and I promised her I would send the undercover tact team to make sure everyone is safe and Edward gets arrested."

"Good" Tobias says.

"I'm on it" Dwayne says and makes a few phone calls in our living room.

"Are you okay?" Tobias asks me softly as he cups my face and caresses my belly.

"I'm fine. We are both fine. The sooner we find him the better."

"I knew he was hiding in Erudite. He doesn't have friends in Candor and Jack made it clear to his faction that if they help a criminal than they are against their own faction and risk to be made faction less. Abnegation wasn't likely. He would have stood out, especially with that eye patch. He wouldn't have come here, knowing that we would look for him. Besides everyone knows us and loves you" he tells me.

"You are loved too" I say caressing his cheek.

"Not as much as you" he says smiling. "The faction less sector was out of the question, because mom made sure to inform everyone she trusted that he is wanted for murder and the rest just know he is a suspect in setting the fire. That fire could have easily spread and killed more people. They don't take that lightly" he says and I nod. "As for Amity, I doubted it. He was born and raised in Erudite and he never left the faction before his Choosing Ceremony and he came to Dauntless. The most he experienced outside of a faction was with the faction less. Even if he would have managed to jump on a train that went to Amity, where would he have hidden and made sure to survive? There's one thing to be faction less within the city, getting food and clothes from the other factions and something completely different to be in a field with no shelter and food. The only logical place for him to be is Erudite" he says and I smile widely. "What?" he asks confused.

"You always say I'm so smart, but you, Mr. Eaton, are just as smart. I can't argue with your logic, especially since he was seen in his birth faction" I say. Just then Dwayne returns to us.

"I talked to my men. They are ready in fifteen to head out to Erudite. I'm going with them to coordinate with the Erudite security head" he announces.

"I'll call Sam and let her know you guys are coming. If you need anything call either me or Four" I tell him. He nods and leaves. I hear him enter his own apartment across the hall a moment later.

"I should go with them" Tobias says.

"No" I say quickly.

"Don't worry, honey. Nothing will happen" he says reassuringly.

"I know you can defend yourself, but that's not what I meant" I say and he gives me a confused look.

"Then what did you mean?"

"Edward knows you. There is a chance he will recognize one of the guys, but if you're there he will be definitely tipped off. We want to catch him, not make him hide again. This is the closest we've gotten in months" I say and he reluctantly nods. I know how he feels. Like he is just sitting around while others do his job. "Hey" I say and cup his face. "It's for the best. Did you remember to tell Dwayne to use non-lethal bullets?" I ask him suddenly aware of that.

"No, but I'll give him a call right away."

"Okay, I'll call Sam and let her know the guys are coming" I say and he nods. We both pull out our phones and when Sam answers I start walking upstairs. I wanted to go there anyway to change into something comfortable. Even if Edward is apprehended tonight we won't interrogate him until tomorrow.

Sam answers quickly and I let her know that the Dauntless team is on their way to Erudite. I tell her that both Tobias and I won't be there, but our co-leader and friend, Dwayne, will be. She should coordinate with him if necessary or call either me or Tobias. After we hang up I pull out my soft PJ and put it on. I slip into bed and wait for Tobias to come. Andy starts moving again and I rub my belly in an attempt to calm him. He is moving anxiously because he can feel my own anxiety. He is getting bigger and he started hitting and kicking me harder. I wince when he kicks me really hard into the right kidney.

"Are you okay?" Tobias asks as he comes in. I look up and shake my head. "What's wrong?" he asks alerted.

"Your son thinks my kidney is a punching bag. Tell him to stop doing that" I whine and Tobias chuckles. He kisses my lips and then bends down to talk to our son.

"Hey, buddy, it's your daddy" Tobias says softly and I feel the baby move but he doesn't kick me anymore. I reach out and thread my fingers through Tobias' hair playing with it. He looks up and smiles, causing me to smile too. "It's not okay to kick your mommy so hard."

"I think he feels my anxiety and doesn't know what's happening" I say and Tobias frowns. He hates it that I worry, but I can't help it.

"Listen, son. There are some things going on and your mommy being the good leader that she is worries about them. But you don't have to. I will make sure to keep you and mommy safe" he says.

"And keep yourself safe too" I add and he grins a little.

"Your mommy is very fierce when it comes to protect her family and I will be forever grateful that she made me part of it" he says changing the subject.

"Smartass" I say.

"Hey, not in front of the kid" he says with a chuckle.

"I think he calmed down" I say after a while.

"I think so too" he says as he caresses my belly. "I can't feel anything. Do you think he is asleep?"

"I hope so. Otherwise he will keep me up all night, although I don't know if I can sleep with this whole mess going on at Erudite" I say.

"Try to relax, love. It's neither good for you or Andy" he says and caresses my cheek. I lean into his touch before I turn my head slightly and kiss his palm.

"How about you change into your sleeping clothes too and lie down with me. I always relax when you're here. Besides, you're not leaving anyway" I say and he nods.

"I'll be right back. I'll just check the door and turn off the lights" he says, kisses my forehead and gets up. I think this will be a long night. Whether Edward will be arrested or not I won't be able to just fall asleep. Too much is going on and too many questions need answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Please review. I really want your opinion on this one.
> 
> Will they finally catch Edward?
> 
> What will they find out if they do?
> 
> If he escapes, what are the chances they will get him ever again?
> 
> What is Tris' plan regarding Marcus?


	96. Chapter 96

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello initiates! I want to say I'm sorry for the delay. I had a major inspirational burst for one of my new fics Divergent Guardian. Also this chapter was a bit hard to write, since I had to look back and check a few details. It is my intention to finish this story when I reach 100 chapters, so very soon. I hope I can finish by Christmas so that I can give you a nice Christmas present. Yesterday I posted the last drabble in the Moments we share series, which somehow can be considerate an epilogue to this story. Those of you who read it know it's in no particular order. If at any point I am inspired to add another drabble or two I will. The final epilogue to this story, however, is the one-shot called Shotgun.

96

I'm waking up when I hear something vibrate. I groan and try to sit up, but Tobias holds me back. That's odd. Why didn't he wake up too? He must be exhausted. I wonder how long he stayed up last night. I reach out for the phone, which is thankfully on my nightstand and in my reach and answer it.

"Hello?" I ask. I haven't seen who the caller is.

"Tris, it's Dwayne. We've got him. We arrested Edward moments ago and we'll bring him to Candor. I'll keep you posted" he says.

"Thank you, Dwayne. Is everyone alright? Is no one injured?" I ask concerned that our people might have been injured somehow.

"Everyone's doing fine. That little bastard put up a fight, but he didn't stand a chance. He had a gun and shot Tony, but he was wearing one of the vests you insisted we wear when we go for an arrest" he says with a chuckle. "He's just bruised up, but other than that fine."

"See? And you mocked me for the vests" I say and he starts laughing.

"Gotta go. Bye."

"Bye. And thank you." We hang up and I turn around to find my husband awake. "Sorry for waking you" I say.

"It's okay. I must have been really tired for me not to hear the phone" he says rubbing his eyes. He sits up and helps me sit up as well.

"The phone was on vibrate. Anyway, that was Dwayne. They got Edward. One of Dwayne's men got shot but thankfully he was wearing a protective vest and he is fine" I tell him.

"That's good. Where do they take him? Here or Candor?" Tobias asks.

"Candor. You should call Jack and tell him, too. I need to go to the bathroom" I say and he chuckles.

"You do that, hon." I hurry into the bathroom to relieve my bladder. It seems like nowadays I have to pee more often than anything else. I decide to take a shower before heading downstairs to have breakfast. It doesn't take me long, especially since Tobias didn't join me, and I'm out in no time.

As I enter the bedroom I find the balcony door open and the bed made. Tobias must have gone downstairs. I close the balcony door, since it's cold and put some comfortable pants and a thick sweater on. I go downstairs where I find my handsome man cooking breakfast for us while talking on the phone.

"Yeah, mom. Of course I will" I hear him say. I walk to where he stands at the stove to see what he is making us, but by the smell of it it's bacon, sausages and eggs. "Sure, mom, don't worry. Mom, mom" he repeats and chuckles as Evelyn probably keeps talking and not letting him say anything. "Mom, I gotta go. Tris is here and she needs to be fed" he says and laughs a little. "Yeah, love you too. Bye" he says and hangs up with an eye roll.

"What was that all about?" I ask.

"I called mom to tell her we got Edward in custody and somehow we ended from that to you and I need to take some birthing classes at the hospital to be prepared for the delivery and whatnot. Then she went on and told me we needed to prepare a suitcase for when you get into labor and somehow she jumped in time and told me if we get Andy a bicycle we should also get him protective gear" he says with a chuckle.

"That's an awfully long way from Lamaze classes to baby's first bicycle" I say as I sit down at the island. He fills both our plates and gives me an OJ and pours himself a mug of coffee, before sitting down next to me.

"Yeah, and the worst part is, that's not the first conversation I had either with my mom or any of your parents and I'm sure there are plenty more coming" he says as he digs in.

"You think you're the only one who got the talk?" I ask and he looks at me. "I had way more than you. Every woman who ever had a baby is giving me advice. Even the ones who haven't are well documented."

"That's what we get for getting pregnant and telling people" he says drinking his coffee.

"Yeah. Next time we'll just tell them we have another baby after it's already here" I say and he laughs.

"Already planning for the next one?" he asks and kisses my cheek.

"Weren't you the one who told me that we need that extra large bed in our bedroom for our many children?" I ask before taking a sip from my OJ.

"You remember that?" he asks smiling.

"Of course. It was hard not to imagine how that would look and feel like" I say.

"You want to make that happen?" he asks hopeful.

"I'm not against it, but let's see how we deal with this little stinker before we have more." He kisses my lips again. It's sweet and gentle and full of love.

"You want some more?" he asks when he sees my plate is empty.

"No, thank you. That was wonderful. Did you talk to Jack?"

"Yes. He said that the interrogation will take place this evening. It'll be a closed session. I'll go. You can stay home and rest."

"The hell I will" I say a bit too loud.

"Tris, you're pregnant, you need to rest" he argues.

"Tobias, I want to hear what that lowlife has to say. I'll rest during the day to be able to stay awake during the interrogation, but I'm going, with or without you" I say getting in his face.

"Honey, I'm just worried about you" he says exasperated.

"I know and I appreciate your concern, but staying home worrying about what is going on at Candor, without being able to talk to you will do me more harm than a car ride and listening to Edward. Besides we know things Jack doesn't" I say.

"I told Jack everything we know. I even gave him Myra's book" he says and looks at me upset.

"Tobias, I'm going and I don't want to hear another word about it."

"You're unreasonable" he says leaning against and the kitchen counter and stares at me.

"I beg the differ" I say loudly.

"You don't need to yell. I'm not deaf" he says louder too.

"Apparently you are. We had this conversation a few times in the past."

"I just want you and Andy to be safe" he says running his right hand through his short hair.

"And we will be. What the fuck is so hard to grasp? I'll rest until we have to be at Candor. What more do you want?"

"I want you to think of the baby first" he says towering over me.

"Are you saying I'm not thinking of my son? That I'm a bad mother?" I ask incredulous.

"That's not what I said. Damn it, Tris. You're twisting my words" he says furious.

"So, now I'm not only a bad mother but I'm also a manipulative wife? What else do you think I am and I don't know about? Perhaps, am I bad in bed? Is that it? Or maybe a bad leader? Or do I suck in any other aspect of my life?" I ask angry and feel tears streaming down my cheeks. This day started out so good.

"Honey, calm down. This isn't good for you or the baby" he says and comes closer to me.

"Just leave me alone" I say and go upstairs. I slam the bedroom door and crawl into bed. Why does he have to exaggerate? Am I crazy for wanting to be present when someone we've been looking for finally answers for his crimes? Tobias is being stupid.

I fall asleep after reading for about half an hour, to calm down my nerves. I was so mad at him, that I didn't want to continue this stupid argument. But now that I've calmed down I feel bad for yelling at him. I know he is just looking out for me and our son and I know the hormones are getting the best of me. But he should know by now that I don't like to be left out. And how am I supposed to just sit at home when I know Edward's being interrogated? Until I know everything that is going on I won't rest for a minute. How's that better?

I pick up my phone from the nightstand and look at the time. Two thirty p.m.? I can't believe I slept for so long. I get out of bed and head downstairs where I find Tobias sitting on the couch with his laptop. He seems to be working. I walk over and the moment he notices me he looks up and smiles a little before he looks serious. I can't tell if he's still mad or just disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Tobias. I overreacted" I say as I sit down. He sets his laptop on the coffee table and gathers me in his arms.

"Yeah, you did, but I wasn't really helpful either. I know you hate being left out, but I just want you and Andy to be safe. I do believe that the interrogation will be stressful; that's why I wanted you to stay at home."

"I know, honey, but staying here wondering what is going on at Candor won't help me either. At least when I'm there I can hear everything and if something is wrong with me or the baby we can get out and head straight to the hospital."

"There's no way I can convince you to stay home, is there?" he asks with a chuckle.

"Have we met?" I ask looking up at him and he starts laughing. He kisses my temple and tightens his grip around me.

"Alright. But if at any moment you feel any discomfort you let me know. Jack is there and he knows all the details to the case. I fully trust him to handle the situation properly. If Edward is guilty, which I'm sure he is, there is no way he will be able to lie under truth serum."

"You're probably right." I lay my head on his shoulder and just enjoy having him close to me. But then I remember that I slept for so long and don't know when the interrogation will start. "Honey, when do we have to be at Candor?" I ask looking up at him.

"The interrogation starts at six p.m., but Jack asked us to be there half an hour earlier to go over some questions" he tells me.

"Alright. Did you call Evelyn or my dad?"

"I did. They'll meet us there right before the interrogation starts. Both being leaders and members of the council allows them to be there."

"Good. Have you eaten anything?" I ask him, although I don't think so. He might have gone down to the cafeteria for lunch, but I doubt it.

"No, I waited for you to get up so that we could have lunch together" he says and as if on cue his stomach growls and we both laugh.

"Baby, you shouldn't have waited for so long."

"It's no problem, honey. And I had some stuff to do anyway. I even forgot about eating" he says and stands up, helping me get up too. "What sounds good?" he asks.

"How about some chicken soup and I'll make us a pudding. Sound good?" I ask.

"Yeah."

We work together in the kitchen like a well oiled machine, avoiding any kind of work related conversation. We decide that even though I'm due sometime mid-March I'll stay home after the Christmas holidays and do some work from here. I already talked to Connor to take my place on the council and since he did it before he had absolutely no objection. Besides, these days the council meets only once every month or every other month. Thankfully the entire city seems to have woken up from a long sleep and everyone is working hard to make this a better place. For the first time since Tobias and I talked about making our city a better place for our children I can actually imagine it. My kids will be Dauntless, but they'll be allowed to visit my parents in Abnegation or Evelyn in the faction less sector or even my brother, Caleb, in Erudite. Maybe when their Choosing Ceremony comes and they, for some reason, decide to choose another faction, we'll still be able to see and talk to them, almost like nothing has changed. Two years ago that would have been a dream, an illusion, but today it is possible and maybe tomorrow factions won't matter so much anymore but the people forming them. Maybe then we will have blood before faction.

"What are you thinking about?" Tobias asks.

"Huh?" I ask confused.

"You stopped mixing the pudding and you haven't really answered any of my questions" he says with a chuckle.

"I kept thinking of how much the city changed and that even if our kids choose a different faction we'll still be able to see them" I say.

"I doubt that" he says surprising me.

"Why?"

"I doubt they will choose differently" he says with a grin.

"Explain" I urge him.

"Think about it. Our kids will be the sons and daughters of Four and Six, legendary Dauntless leaders. They will have so much Dauntless in their blood they just won't choose anything other than our faction" he says smirking.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. But I hope you're right. I know that if things stay the way they are or even get better we will be able to see them all the time, like we do our parents, but I do hope I'll have my babies around for a lot longer than just sixteen years" I say and rub my growing belly.

"I hope so too. And since you said babies" he says and grins widely "how many are we talking?" he asks.

"Oh, no. Not that again."

"Come on, babe."

"Are you out of your mind? We haven't even gotten this little bun out of the oven and you want to talk more?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Well, as I recall I told you I want ten" he says.

"Yeah, and I told you to fuck off. I'm not having ten kids" I say.

"Alright. I'll accept that. For now. I'll change your mind" he says grinning wider.

"The hell you will" I say and punch him lightly.

After we finish cooking and eating we still have time before we need to head out. Tobias already texted Tori and Connor to tell them where we are going later so that they know where we are and send text messages in case of emergencies instead of calling.

We sit down on the couch and while Tobias gets some work done I read one of my pregnancy books I got from Shauna. Right now I'm reading about the birthing part and the more I read the more I regret ever letting Tobias touch me. I must have made a disgusted face or something because he chuckles making me look up from my book and at my husband.

"What?" I ask confused.

"What are you reading that disgusts you like this?" he asks. I hand him the book and point toward what I was reading and he too makes a face. "Okay, I get it. Next time just say you're reading something disgusting. I don't ever want to see something like that again."

"Well, bummer, 'cause you will" I say and he raises an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to be in the room when I deliver?"

"Of course I will, but that's Addison's area of expertise not mine."

"It was yours when you put it in, but it's Addison's when it comes out?" I ask with a laugh.

"In a nutshell."

"Tobias, they'll ask you to cut the umbilical cord. The dad does that" I say.

"I know, but then I'll focus on the task and not look down there" he says making the same face again.

"That's funny. Usually you're very happy to see and play with what's down there."

"Yeah, and I'll be happy to do that again, but this is different."

"I know. I'm just teasing." I check the time and it's nearly five p.m. The drive to Candor isn't long but I don't want to rush and Jack did ask us to be there a half hour earlier. "Tobias, we should get ready" I say and he nods. I put my book aside and he closes his laptop. He runs upstairs to get my warm winter coat, since it's really cold outside and returns to the living room helping me get ready.

Within ten minutes we are in the car on our way to Candor HQ. We both remain silent, probably thinking of what we'll learn. I wonder what Edward has to say for himself. Why he killed Myra and all the other bad things he did.

"You alright?" he asks glancing my way.

"Yeah. Why are you asking?"

"You are so quiet."

"I kept thinking of what might have prompted Edward to do all these horrible things" I say and look at him.

"We'll find out soon enough" he says.

We reach the parking lot and Tobias gets out of the car, hurrying to my side to help me out. Nowadays it's a bit difficult for me to get in and out of the car without his help. I guess, the bigger I get the more difficult it'll be.

After he locks our car we head inside and take the elevator to get to Jack's office. His secretary announces us and our friend soon invites us in.

"Four, Tris, welcome to Candor" he says as we sit down in the two chairs in front of his desk.

"Jack, you wanted to see us" Tobias says.

"Yes. I revised the case several times and I want you to be close by when I'm interrogating him. You two are familiar with the case, but because of your personal investment it's better you don't address the guy directly. Whenever you have additional questions Sarah, one of my co-leaders, will hand me written notes from you" he explains.

"Thank you" I say. "I wanted to ask if it's possible to ask questions as well, but your way is a lot better."

"I will also let the council do the same, but I'm sure no one else will ask anything. We are the most familiar with the case and therefore best suited to ask these questions."

"We appreciate it" Tobias says.

We have still another fifteen minutes until the interrogation and decide to head toward the conference room where it will take place. To my delight my father is already here and I walk over to hug him, as Tobias spots his mother talking to Johanna Reyes, one of Amity's leaders.

"How are you, Beatrice?" my dad asks.

"I'm good, thank you."

"I'm surprised to see you here" he says glancing at Tobias and I furrow my eyebrows. Just then Tobias looks my way and frowns when he sees me. He comes rushing to me.

"What happened?" he asks concerned.

"Why do people think I need to ask for your permission to go places?" I ask.

"Huh?" he asks confused.

"Sweetheart, I never said you had to ask permission" dad says and I feel heat rushing into my cheeks. My hormones are acting up again. Tobias hugs me tightly to his chest and rubs my back.

"I'm sorry" I say, my voice muffled.

"It's okay" he says softly before kissing the top of my head.

"Is everything alright?" Evelyn asks coming closer to us.

"I don't know" dad says honestly.

"Tris had a rough day, but she's fine. Right, honey?" Tobias says, avoiding going into details.

"Are you feeling sick?" Evelyn asks and I shake my head.

"Mom" Tobias says and she must understand because she doesn't ask anything else.

"Hey, knock it off, lovebirds. This is a courthouse not your lovey-dovey nest" Jack teases.

"Fuck off" I say and he starts laughing.

"Okay, relax. It's time" he says serious now. I look up at Tobias and he smiles at me his charming smile. He bends down and captures my lips in a tender kiss.

"Come on, let's get this over with" he says.

We all enter and take our places. Since it's a smaller room we all sit in a semicircle and wait for the guards to bring in Edward. Tobias sits to the far end, I'm next to him, Evelyn next to me and then dad, followed by other council members and faction leaders. Jack walks over with his co-leader Sarah introducing her to us. We politely exchange pleasantries and she hands us a pen and a note pad for when we have questions. The door to the left opens and two guards bring Edward in. They sit him down in the middle of the room and guard him until Jack walks over to inject the truth serum into his blood stream. We wait for a minute to let the serum activate in his system and then the guards take a few steps back. Sarah reads the charges brought to Edward and then Jack starts his interrogation. As usual he asks for name, faction of birth and what he chose, as well as some other questions to establish the identity of the person who is being interrogated. And then he gets to the serious questions.

"Tell us what happened after you were kicked out of Dauntless" Jack says.

"I became faction less" Edward answers.

"Is it true that your former girlfriend followed you, despite that she could have stayed in Dauntless?" Jack asks.

"Yes, Myra followed me like a loyal puppy. I told her not to, but she came anyway."

"Did your relationship continue?" Jack asks.

"For a while, but then she became too clingy and we broke up" Edward answers.

"Tell us about your relationship with the faction less leader, Evelyn Johnson."

"Evelyn took me in and showed me that there is a life after the factions. Just because I wasn't in one of the five I was still part of the community. She gave me a new purpose and I swore to help her change the city" Edward says.

"How exactly did she plan on changing the city and what was your role?" Jack asks. We all know that already.

"Evelyn told us that sooner or later the factions will fight each other and when that happens we will overthrow however wins the war. I was supposed to be her second in command. I was like a son to her" he says with a small smile, but then his expression turns sour. "But then her ungrateful son and his bitch stopped the war and everything went to shit" he sneers and looks directly at us. I feel Tobias stiffen beside me and holding me tighter to him.

"Could you be more specific?"

"Tobias Eaton, Evelyn's son and his girlfriend, Tris Prior, they warned the council and Abnegation about the attack."

"Did you have prior knowledge of the attack?"

"No, I learned about it afterwards, after it was too late."

"How exactly was it too late? They were able to stop a terrible genocide" Jack says.

"Erudite was supposed to use Dauntless to kill Abnegation. Afterwards the other factions would have fought against each other and we would have won in the end. But Tobias and Tris stopped everything. It's their fault."

"How did that make you feel?"

"Angry" Edward answers.

"Did you do anything to get revenge on either Tobias Eaton or Tris Prior?" Jack asks.

"Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, they captured Edward. What did he do?
> 
> What will his interrogation reveal?
> 
> What did he do to Tobias?
> 
> What did he do to Tris?
> 
> Was it really him who killed Myra and his partner in crime?
> 
> What is Marcus' involvement?
> 
> All this will be answered in the next chapter. However, I'd love to hear your opinions.
> 
> Be brave.


	97. Chapter 97

97

I wonder what Edward did to take revenge on Tobias and me. I always suspected that he is behind the attack on Marcus. The masked person who shot Marcus is about Tobias' height and build and wore all black, trying to set us on a wrong course. When Jack said that Tobias is a suspect I thought that he must be joking, but after I thought about it and considered it plenty, whoever did it wanted both Marcus dead, but more importantly to frame Tobias for it. Edward surely hates Marcus for what he did to Evelyn, she told me this much. And now that I heard him say that he took revenge it's more than clear to me that it was him.

"What did you do?" Jack asks.

"A lot," he says with a grin.

"Let me rephrase, what did you do to hurt Tobias Eaton?" Jack asks a little more forceful. I can tell that he's getting angrier, even if he masks it. Tobias and Jack have become good friends over these past two years and he surely doesn't like where this is heading.

"I dressed up in black and shot Marcus Eaton," he says. I knew it. Tobias' grip on me tightens a little, but not to hurt me, while I hear Evelyn gasp and a few others start talking.

"Silence, please," Jack says turning around. "Was it your intention to only scare Marcus Eaton or kill him?" Jack asks turning back to face Edward.

"Kill him," he answers.

"And you wanted to frame his own son for it?"

"Yes."

"Why kill Marcus Eaton?" Jack asks.

"He deserves it. He beat Evelyn up and made her leave her home. She suffered because of that bastard and he deserved to die."

"What about her son, Tobias?"

"He deserved what was coming. He betrayed his mother for his whore and stopped our plan," Edward says glaring at Tobias. I'm rubbing Tobias' right hand to calm him down. Without saying anything I know he is out of his mind with rage.

"What did you do to Tris Eaton?" Jack asks. I'm curious about that too. I can't think of anything he could have done to me.

"I helped Mitchells kidnap that little bitch. I have no idea how such a small girl overpowered him." Mitchells? Romeo? He helped Romeo to kidnap me? I remember Dwayne saying after I was rescued and felt up to talking that he believes that there was a second person, but there was no physical evidence to support that. Only after I got kidnapped Tobias ordered that every corner of Dauntless should be surveiled.

"So, you are the reason why Dauntless leader Tris Eaton, nee Prior, was abducted and held hostage, possibly even killed?" Jack asks disgusted.

"Yes. I even told him to have some fun before he gets rid of the bitch. When he found out that she is Eaton's girlfriend he got even more excited. How the hell did you escape?" he asks looking me straight in the eyes.

"Please, refrain from addressing anyone except me," Jack says drawing Edward's attention back to him. "We have reason to believe that you and a friend of yours, Drake Albright, former Dauntless member, were involved in something else."

"Drake and I were best buddies. We shared everything," Edward says.

"So you know he is dead," Jack says. There was never an official release of Drake Albright's death. If Edward didn't kill Drake than this is one hell of a coincidence.

"Of course I do. I killed him," Edward confesses. Well, no surprise there.

"Why?" Jack asks.

"That son of a bitch got greedy and didn't respect me," Edward says.

"What exactly happened? How did you kill Drake Albright?" Jack asks.

"Drake wanted to kill Evelyn. He was convinced that Marcus Eaton would pay well if we did. But Evelyn, despite her many flaws, was like a mother to me and I couldn't kill her. I told Drake that and we started to fight. It was really a stupid death. I pushed him and he lost his balance and fell with his head backwards on a sharp rock. He was dead on the spot."

"You mentioned Marcus Eaton. What does he have to do with any of this?" Jack asks. I'm curious to know that too and I bet Evelyn and Tobias too.

"Marcus Eaton came to the faction less sector a few months before Drake died. He was convinced that Evelyn was up to something together with his daughter-in-law. He asked us to spy on them and report back," Edward tells us.

"That's it? Just spy on them?"

"Yes."

"What did he offer in exchange?"

"He periodically came and brought us food and clothes before the truck with Abnegation volunteers divided the good stuff up. He even brought us booze and other stuff the Abnegation usually don't bring us," he says. Well, that doesn't sound so bad.

"Did Marcus Eaton ever ask you to harm Evelyn Johnson or Tris Eaton?" Jack asks.

"Not me. I can't say for sure if he asked Drake however. But I doubt it. He was just asking us to spy and tell him all that is going on in the faction less sector." Jack nods and then pulls out Myra's note book. He shows it to Edward who obviously is confused as to what that is.

"Do you know what this is?" Jack asks.

"No."

"This is the diary of your ex-girlfriend, Myra Jenkins. In this she wrote all she observed you doing. Among many foul things this book contains one of the most disturbing crimes I ever came across in my career. Is it true that you physically and sexually abused your ex-girlfriend?"

"I wouldn't say abused. It was a bit rough, but come on," Edward says and I feel bile coming up.

"What about this incident? She came to you telling you that she was pregnant with your child and both you and Drake Albright abused and beat her repeatedly until she lost her baby. Is that true?" Jack asks forceful and loud.

"That bitch tried to put a baby on me that wasn't mine," Edward yells back.

"Answer the question. Did you and Mr. Albright repeatedly rape and beat Ms. Jenkins until she lost her baby?"

"YES," Edward yells and I hear many people in the room let out words of outrage and disgust. Jack allows the people gathered here this evening to say what's on their minds before silencing them.

"Did you kill Ms. Jenkins?"

"Yes, but I had too."

"Please, explain."

"She came in just as I was about to burn the place down. She threatened to tell everyone I killed Drake and raped her. I told her that it was an accident but she wanted to leave. I took one of the bricks lying on the ground and smashed her skull with it. When she wasn't dead I strangled her to finish her off," he says and I feel like vomiting. He is disgusting me.

"What happened next?" Jack asks.

"I knew that I couldn't just leave them there, exposed. Someone could have found them. I set the building on fire and hoped that it would conceal their bodies," Edward says.

"The official report states that accelerator was used. What did you use?" Jack asks.

"I found engine fuel in the old factory where Mitchells took Tris."

"Did anyone help you after you killed Drake Albright and Myra Jenkins?" Jack asks.

"No. I went from one shelter to another. Living faction less taught me to survive in the harshest conditions."

"You didn't have any help while at Erudite?"

"No. I wanted to keep my family out of it. Besides I knew that they would be interrogated first once someone would figure out I killed Drake and Myra." Jack turns around to look at us. I'm speechless. I thought I might have questions, but Jack was thorough and looking back at all I've learned I don't know if I want to know anymore.

"If you wouldn't have been caught last night, what would you have done?" Jack asks.

"I would have found a way to kill all of them," Edward says and glares at us.

"Who's all?" Jack insists.

"Marcus Eaton for beating up Evelyn, Tobias Eaton for being such a pain in the ass for his mother and Tris Eaton for being a nosy bitch who can't stay put and let the men handle things," he spits. He wanted to hurt us, all of us. But by doing so he wouldn't have just hurt me and Tobias but also our son, Andy. I instinctively hold my belly and Tobias places his large palm over it too. I feel our son kick and I know he is agitated with all that's going on.

"Do you have any regrets?" Jack asks, the usual final question.

"I regret not having killed Peter Hayes after he stabbed me in the eye and for letting Eric kick me out of Dauntless."

"Thank you for your candor," Jack says and makes a sign for the guards to approach. Edward is injected with the antiserum and taken back to his cell.

"What now?" dad asks as Jack approaches us.

"We'll call Marcus Eaton to the stand to testify," he says.

"Are you going to send a patrol to bring him from Abnegation?" Tobias asks.

"No, he is already here. He is waiting outside," Jack says and my eyes widen.

"How did you know to call him?" dad asks.

"Ms. Jenkins diary. She wrote here," he says showing us the book "that Marcus met with Edward and Drake. That seemed suspicious. I wanted to know more about that. Even if what Edward said is the truth Marcus could have not told them everything he had in mind when he recruited them," Jack says. He has a point.

"We should go," Tobias says.

"What? Why?" I ask confused.

"It has been a long and rough evening and I need you two," he says pointing at my tummy "to relax. Edward's interrogation got you all worked up and Andy could feel that," he says. I know he is right, but I really want to know what Marcus has to say.

"Tobias is right, sweetheart," Evelyn says with a smile. "You need to think of my grandson first. We'll keep you posted," she says and dad nods. I know they all want what's best for me and Andy but I hate that I have to leave. But I can tell already that there's no arguing with them, especially not with Tobias when he is in daddy mode. I can't understand why he ever thought he would be a bad father. This kid isn't even born yet and his father loves him so much that he would take down an entire city if necessary to keep our son healthy and happy.

"Alright," I sigh in defeat. "You win." I say goodbye to Evelyn giving her a hug and a kiss and do the same with dad. "Tell mom I said hi and that I love her. Love you, too, dad."

"I will and we both love you, all three of you," dad says placing his palm on my tummy and looking from me to Tobias.

"Please, call me after Marcus' interrogation is over, me not Four," I ask Jack in a whisper while I give him a hug.

"Will do, rulebook," he says and I grin. We say our final goodbyes and leave the room and the Candor headquarters behind.

On our drive home none of us says anything, both of us thinking of Edward's interrogation and the new revelations. It astonishes me what a sick mind can do to hurt people. This past year was more than eventful. From happy events to tragic ones, from laughter to tears we had everything. But thankfully Tobias and I are stronger now than we ever were. All these challenges made us grow stronger together, be real partners. I love and respect him for the man he has become. He is a true leader and our faction can be thankful and happy for having him in charge. I know that there's also Connor, Dwayne, Tori and me to help him, but he is the true Dauntless leader. He rose from a frail Abnegation boy who was abused by his father to this amazing strong, loyal, just, kind and brave man. I am so lucky to call him my husband and the father of my children, because we will have more than our little Andy, I'm sure of it.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks as he parks the car.

"You, us, everything that happened," I answer and he raises an eyebrow.

"Babe, I love you, but I'm too tired to decipher what that means," he says a little irritated. I know he is not pissed with me, he is just frustrated with this whole situation.

"I love you, too," I say as he helps me out of the car. I wrap my arms around his neck and press myself close to him as best I can with my belly in the middle. "I was thinking of all we faced together this past year and a half, good and bad. It could have broken us up but it only made us stronger," I say and he smiles a little.

"It has been tough at times," he says. "Come on, let's get you home."

We walk hand in hand up the stairs to our floor and enter our apartment. Tobias turns on the lights and offers to make supper for us while I go upstairs to change into my sleeping clothes. I return about ten minutes later thinking of what might be going on at Candor. Marcus' interrogation should have been over by now. Why isn't Jack calling?

Just as I finish my thought my phone rings but I can't seem to locate it. And then Tobias pulls it out of his pocket.

"It's Jack," he says handing me the phone to answer as I enter our kitchen.

"Hello," I say into the receiver.

"Hey, Tris. Sorry for calling you only now, but something happened," Jack says.

"What happened?" I ask alerted and Tobias immediately stops what he was doing looking at me concerned. I put my phone on speaker so that Tobias can hear this too.

"During Marcus' interrogation he started feeling ill and vomited violently. We had to cancel the rest of the interrogation and take him to the hospital," he says.

"Does anyone know what is going on with him? Did he get sick because of the truth serum?" I ask.

"I don't know, I doubt it. This isn't the first time he testified under the serum. He is in the hospital right now. Andrew went with the ambulance and so did Evelyn."

"Evelyn?" I ask surprised.

"Yeah."

"Did you get the chance to ask about his involvement with Edward and Drake?" I ask.

"Yeah. Edward was right, Marcus wanted to spy on you and Evelyn. He didn't trust her and thought she was manipulating you. He didn't think you came up with all your ideas by yourself, but that Evelyn lead you toward them. He testified under truth serum that he didn't participate in anything illegal and that the only reason he worked with Edward and Drake was to know what you two were up to."

"Did he say anything else?" I ask.

"As a matter of fact he did. When he started feeling sick, just after he answered my questions he requested to make a confession," Jack says and I look at Tobias. He is just as speechless as I am and curious to find out more.

"Well, go on," Tobias says.

"Oh, hi Four, I didn't know you were here too," Jack says a bit surprised.

"Yeah, yeah, we're all here. Now tell us about Marcus' confession," I say irritated.

"He confessed being abusive toward his wife and son and gave us some details," Jack says and I gasp. I look from my phone to Tobias and I see color leave his face. He looks at me speechless but then his expression becomes angry.

"What else did he say?" he asks Jack.

"He confessed that he became abusive with his wife because he believed she was cheating on him and that he always thought that as a good housewife she should be more obedient. He went on and described some occasions when he beat her up badly and she couldn't leave the house for days because that would have caused everyone to look their way and investigate. He knew that legally he didn't have any right to hit you or your mom, but he believed that only if he forced you two into submission you would become better and a model family not just for Abnegation but the whole city," Jack says.

"That's sick," I say appalled.

"Did he say anything else?" Tobias asks.

"He said that after Evelyn left him he thought that he was right to think that you aren't his son. That she left you with him to mock him, to laugh at him. But after he broke your arm when you were a kid and you needed medical care in the hospital it was confirmed to him that you are indeed his son. At that point he realized that he only hit you to take revenge on Evelyn, but after that he decided to make you a real man and not be fooled by a woman, like your mother fooled him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tobias asks both angry and confused.

"You'll have to ask him because that's where he got really sick and we had to abort the interrogation and called an ambulance." I look at Tobias and he is shaking with rage. I step away from him, not because I'm afraid but because I know he needs a moment to collect himself and he needs some space for that.

"Thank you, Jack, for everything," I say.

"No problem. Take care you two. If I find out anything more I'll call or text you," he says.

"Likewise. Goodnight, Jack."

"Goodnight, Tris." I hang up the phone and turn around to see how Tobias is doing, but he left the kitchen and by the cold air that just hit me I realize he went on the balcony. I take the warm blanket from the couch and walk outside where Tobias is grabbing the railing so tight that his knuckles turned white.

"Honey," I tentatively say. He doesn't move, but by the way his shoulders slumped when he heard my voice I can tell he acknowledged my presence.

"I don't know what to think," he says, his tone defeated.

"I know, baby. It's confusing."

"My whole life I wondered why Marcus behaved the way he did and now I hear this," he says disbelievingly.

"I know. Why don't you come inside? It's freezing out here and I don't want you to catch a cold," I say. He finally turns around and looks at me. I know he wants to argue, but he looks like he doesn't have the strength to do that anymore. I grab his hand and pull him inside. I close the balcony door and walk toward the couch, dragging him with me. We sit down and I curl next to him. He immediately wraps his arms around me and holds me close to him. I can feel his rapid heartbeat but don't say anything. He needs some time to think and I don't want to push him.

"I want to see him," Tobias says after a long while of not saying anything.

"Now?" I ask confused.

"No, I'll go tomorrow morning to the hospital," he says.

"I'm coming with you."

"No, I'll go alone," he says, I open my mouth to argue, but maybe he is right. Marcus is his father and he is the one who needs closure.

"Alright," I say.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For understanding."

"No problem. You know I'm here for you. If and when you are ready to talk about it I'll listen. Unless I'm in labor. Then I'll probably scream at you and wish for your penis to fall off," I say trying t cheer him up.

"You would regret that more than me," he counters and even without being able to see his face I know I made him smile a little.

"You'd think," I tease.

"Do I need to remind my wife why she loves my dick so much?" he asks jokingly.

"Maybe. But first let's eat something. I think Andy's hungry," I say and Tobias chuckles. He kisses my temple and gently stands up helping me too. We walk into the kitchen where I sit at the island and Tobias offers me a grilled cheese sandwich before getting his own. We eat in silence trying to avoid the subject of Marcus or anything negative at the moment. I look toward the clock and see it's already ten p.m.

"Why don't you go upstairs? I'll clean this up and join you in a minute?" he asks and I know he wants to be alone for a while. I nod and peck his cheek. I go upstairs and brush my teeth before slipping into bed. I try to keep my eyes open and wait for my husband but I'm too tired and at some point I fall asleep.

I don't wake up until the next morning. I turn around to touch Tobias, but he isn't there. His side is empty and cold and I wonder if he even came to bed last night. I sit up and look from his side to my nightstand and find a note.

Six, I woke up early and decided to go to the hospital to see Marcus.

I'll call you before I come home.

Love you. Four.

I smile a little and put the note back down. I check my phone but there aren't any missed calls or messages. I get out of bed and head downstairs to get myself a bowl of cereal. I decide to eat in the living room while watching an old Christmas movie. I know it's still time but those movies always cheer me up.

As I eat my breakfast and try to watch the movie my mind drifts toward Tobias and what he might do right now. Is he talking to Marcus? Is he yelling? Is he angry? Is he sad?

I wish I would be with him right now, but I know he needed to do this on his own and I respect him for that.

I check the time again and it's almost noon. I decide to make some lunch. Maybe he'll come home. I doubt he'll be working today, especially if he went to see Marcus early in the morning. I keep myself from calling him. If he wanted to talk to me he would've called by now.

I decide to make some chicken soup and sandwiches. It's not much, but I'm neither in the mood to make anything else, nor do I feel up to it. I already feel tired, despite not having done anything other than sitting around.

By the time lunch is ready I hear the front door open and close and I look toward it. Tobias stands in our apartment, deep in thought and pained. I know I promised myself not to pry, but I can't stand seeing him like this. I walk toward him and the moment our eyes meet I recognize that he's been crying. My heart constricts to see the pain in them and all I want to do right now is hold him close to me and comfort him as best as I can. I wrap my arms around his torso and the moment we're in each other's arms he starts crying silently. I let him. We stay like this for a long while but at some point my back and feet start hurting and I slowly pull back. I look into my husband's eyes and they are filled with sorrow and regret.

"Let's sit down in the living room," I say. I want so badly to ask him what is going on, what happened, but I keep quiet.

"Won't you gonna ask me?" he asks.

"I figured you're going to tell me once you're ready," I say and smile a little.

"I woke up early and went to the hospital. I needed to talk to Marcus," he starts saying. Before he continues he pulls me in his lap and I lay my head on his shoulder. He keeps me wrapped in his arms and takes a deep breath. "I demanded that he explains what he confessed yesterday."

"And?"

"He told me that he believed he was right to beat me and mom," he says bitter. "I yelled at him, told him that he had absolutely no right. No father should ever lay a finger on his children and that I would cut my own arm off if I ever even think of doing that to my kids."

"What did he say?" I ask when he stops talking.

"He smiled," he says and I'm confused. "He said that he was only harsh with me," Tobias says with a snort "to make sure I'm a better man. I told him that his way was the wrong one and he didn't disagree. We talked, Tris, for the first time in my life I had an honest conversation with my father. He told me that he truly believed that mom was cheating on him, that I wasn't his son until it was proven otherwise, that he wanted me to be obedient and step into his footsteps and become a leader."

"You are a leader, but not because of him or his sick way of raising you," I say forceful and Tobias tightens his grip on me.

"I told him everything that was on my mind for all these years. How often I fantasized of beating him the way he did me, how much I hated him for treating me like garbage, how I despised him for hitting my mom and making her leave and how much I pray that I'll never become like him."

"That'll never happen, honey. You are a wonderful man, the complete opposite of Marcus," I say and cup his face. I look him in the eyes and he smiles a little.

"Thank you for believing in me, for trusting and loving me," he says before he kisses me gently.

"Of course I do. You never once gave me any reason to doubt you," I say and kiss him again.

"He asked me for forgiveness," he says and my eyes widen.

"Really? What prompted him to do that?"

"It was his last wish that I forgive him," Tobias says and I gasp.

"Last wish? Don't tell me…"

"My father, Marcus Eaton, died this morning, 10.45 a.m."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thoughts?


	98. Chapter 98

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi there initiates! A big "I'm sorry" for the delay. Last week I got so inspired and wrote a Divergent Fairy Tale, that I started posting on the 24th. I post every day a chapter until the end of the year. It's called The Prince and The Witch: A Divergent Fairy Tale. I also updated Divergent Guardian yesterday and hopefully will update Conquer Yourself today.
> 
> There are two more chapters left until this story concludes, and no, I haven't written them yet. But I decided that it would be cool to round it up to 100 chapters.
> 
> Once again, sorry for the delay and a belated Merry Christmas to all of you.

98

It's almost a month since Edward's trial and Marcus' death. There are two days before Christmas and everyone is excited for the Christmas party tonight and the holidays in general. Tobias and I invited Evelyn to join us for Christmas Eve, since mom and dad are invited to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day in Erudite with Caleb and Cara, who share the loveliest apartment. I know Cara has some bad taste when it comes to decorations, but together she and my brother made a usually sterile looking space be cozy and welcoming. So, this Christmas Tobias and I will celebrate only with Evelyn, well and little Andy in my tummy.

Edward's trial concluded three days after his interrogation. He was convicted and unanimously voted to be executed a week from sentencing, giving his family time to say goodbye. Usually, I would have pressed for a different sentence, but the nature and severity of his crimes as well as the number overwhelmed all kind of forgiveness in me or anyone else's. They injected him with death serum and incinerated his remains. Myra's parents were present and I think now they found closure and Myra her peace. Her abuser and murderer was gone and couldn't hurt anyone else. I only wish she would still be alive, but I pray for her as often as I can.

As for Marcus' death that stirred up a lot of attention. He had a nice funeral and a lot of people went, including Tobias and Evelyn. Evelyn even shed a tear, which I didn't thought possible, but later that day she came back to the apartment with us and we talked. Well she and I did, Tobias was just sitting next to me caressing my tummy. She revealed that the night Marcus got sick in Candor she and my dad went with him and despite herself she gave in when he asked to see her. She didn't know why at the time but she felt like confronting him. But it turned out that they talked. She told us that the Marcus lying on his death bed was the Marcus she fell in love with and still loved after all these years. She confirmed what Marcus told Tobias about his grandfather and how the old man liked to mingle in his son's marriage. Apparently, old man Eaton had a lot to do with the failure and the abuse in the first place, not that that is any excuse. Marcus asked Evelyn too to forgive him and like Tobias she told me she didn't know if she could. He hurt her and her son too much. He smiled at her and just asked to think of him and the good times they shared and maybe one day she will find it in her heart. He did everything wrong a man and a father could do wrong, but he regretted it. Unfortunately, it took him a death sentence to revise his life and seek forgiveness from his family. After that day we didn't speak of him again. Or at least Tobias and Evelyn didn't speak of him in my presence. I know that during this last month Tobias visited his mom in Factionless or called her on the phone, he told me that, but I never asked what they talked about. It doesn't concern me and if he wants to share he will, I know he will. They both need to figure this out as mother and son and bond and find a way to deal with the whole situation in their own way.

Christina is in party planning mode. She told me she would stop by to do my hair and make-up and then head home. The only thing I should do is shower and put my dress on. I decided to wear a long, black chiffon dress and my black flats. I wanted to wear heels and Christina will have a meltdown, but my feet are swollen and I can't bear wearing anything other than flats. I look myself up in the mirror after I let the towel drop and admire my protruding belly. Twenty eight weeks. I can't believe it. My little jelly bean is so big. Another twelve weeks and my baby boy will be here. I can't wait for that to happen. I pick out my underwear, black lace boxers and a comfortable strapless bra, since the dress is strapless too, I put on pantyhose because it's a bit chilly in the compound, my flats and then my dress. I have difficulties with the zipper and just then my doorbell rings. This must be Christina. I hurry downstairs and make sure not to trip and open the door for her. She smiles brightly at me and gives me a hug which almost lets me let go of the dress. I usher her inside and ask her to zip me up.

"How are you feeling?" she asks as she styles my hair.

"Tired and fat," I say.

"You're not fat," she says with a chuckle. "You're pregnant."

"That's what Four says but I feel fat," I say frustrated. My hormones are acting up again and Tobias and I almost had a fight today. I try to keep my cool, but the more time passes the fatter I get and I feel unattractive and ugly. Tobias says it's all in my head, that he loves me more than ever before. I believe him, it's not like I have any reason not to. Except for the mirrors all around. It doesn't make it easier since we haven't had sex in a while, almost three weeks, but with the return of the dreadful morning sickness I just couldn't stand even thinking off getting out of bed, let alone make love. Am I horny? A lot, but the moment I think of sex I just get this weird feeling and I get up and puke. Yesterday I called Addison to ask about this and she told me to just relax. I told her that I feel fat and ugly and she chuckled. She said it's normal and the hormones just amplify everything. I should just enjoy everything as much as I can, because once the baby is here I won't be allowed to have sex for at least six to eight weeks.

"Sweetie, you're not fat. Other than your large belly, which houses your son, there isn't an ounce of fat on you," Christina says reassuringly. Somehow I feel better. I guess it's easier for me to believe her since we're both women and best friends and tell each other everything, even if it's hard to hear, than having our significant others tell us the exact same thing. I can always count that Christina will be brutally honest with me. I nod and smile at my friend.

"Thanks, Chris," I say.

"You're welcome. So, you're done. Not let me just do something with your make-up."

"Nothing too pretentious," I say.

"Don't worry. It'll be simple, but fabulous," she tells me.

Once she's done I look at myself up and down in the mirror and admire her work. It amazes me how she can do so much with so little. I thank her again and give her a hug before she leaves the apartment and hurries to her own to get ready for the party.

I'm so glad the nightmare with Edward is over and we can finally return to a normal routine. I decide to read a little until Tobias comes home, but instead of the living room I choose Andy's room where the rocking chair is. I walk upstairs and just as I want to head toward the nursery I hear the door open and close.

"Honey, I'm home," Tobias calls.

"I'm upstairs," I say and I hear the door lock and then Tobias' heavy footsteps running up the stairs. The moment he sees me he stops in his tracks and looks me up and down.

"Tris, you look amazing, beautiful," he says and his eyes darken and I know what he has on his mind.

"Nah-ah, mister. Christina just finished my hair and make-up. No funny business until after the party," I say with a smile.

"You mean you feel up to it?" he asks with a shy smile, almost apprehensive.

"Well, I haven't felt nauseous at all today, so maybe it'll stay that way." He takes the last steps and then stands in front of me. He bends down and kisses me softly enveloping me in his arms, where I always feel loved and protected.

"How about we skip the party?" he asks hopeful.

"How about we don't? Come on. If we don't show up for at least a couple of hours we won't hear the end of it. Come on. Go take a shower, I've already laid out an outfit for you," I tell him and peck his pouting lips.

"Where will you be?" he asks.

"Andy's room. I'm going to read a little and I like it there. It calms me," I tell him honestly. He nods and just as he turns to go to our bedroom I grab his wrist. "I'm sorry for this morning. I don't mean to lash out on you."

"It's okay. At least you didn't throw a dish after me," he says with a chuckle.

"I never did that," I say half offended.

"I know, babe. Shauna threw a couple at Zeke when she was pregnant," he says with a small laugh and I join.

"Yeah, that sounds like the two of them. Go on, take your shower and then come and get me," I say and he raises an eyebrow. "From Andy's room. Geez, Four, grow up," I say and shove him playfully toward the master bedroom. He laughs out loud and disappears inside.

I turn on my heels and walk into my son's room where I pick up the book on birthing from the changing table and sit down in the rocking chair. About twenty minutes later my handsome husband appears in the door of the nursery all freshly showered and dressed for the party. I try to get up but it's getting more difficult each day. Tobias walks over and helps me up. I groan.

"I'm like a stranded whale," I mutter.

"You're pregnant and the most beautiful creature I've ever seen," he says smiling. I want to smile but I force it down. Instead I tease him a little.

"Oh shut it, Eaton. You won't get some until we get back," I say serious and walk past him. It takes him a moment to register what I said and realize I'm not upset, like so often before.

"Well, a husband can try," he says.

"How about you try later," I say and smirk.

"Deal. Let me help you," he says and holds my hand firmly in his while I lift the skirt a little to not trip over it. Once we're down he turns me so that we are face to face and he smiles.

"What?" I ask when he doesn't say anything.

"I love you," he says and I smile brightly. I still feel like the first time he said it to me. I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.

"I love you, too," I say and he smiles back. Just as he locks his lips with mine Andy kicks a bit hard and I wince.

"Are you alright?" he asks concerned.

"Yeah, you're son just kicked me." Tobias crouches down to be at the same level as my tummy. He puts both his hands on my swollen abdomen and caresses it gently.

"Hey, buddy, it's your daddy," he says and I feel the baby move. He looks up, obviously having it felt too, and smiles. "Listen, I need you to not kick mommy so hard. It hurts her and we Eaton boys don't want mommy hurt, right?" he asks our unborn child and Andy moves around some more but doesn't kick or at least not as hard.

"You're a dork," I say with a giggle.

"Hey. Did I make him stop kicking so hard or not?" he asks.

"Yeah, you did. Now come on, daddy, we need to get to that party before our friends send a search party for us," I say and he laughs.

We walk out the door and he locks up. We slowly climb down the stairs and make our way to the Pit where many Dauntless greet us and ask about the baby. It takes us ten minutes to walk not twenty feet into the cafeteria.

Once we're there I look around stunned. Christina, as Chief Dauntless Decorator, as she calls herself, outdid herself. The cafeteria is a wonderful mess of green and red, ribbons and bows and from the ceiling are dozens of silver stars hanging, making the otherwise plain cafeteria look like Santa's workshop. We make our way to our table where most of our friends are. I look around and Hana, Shauna, Zeke and Hunter are still missing. Tobias lets me slide in next to Christina who obviously sits next to Will, Monica and Phil next to him, while on the other side are Lynn and Vicky, Uriah and Marlene.

"Hey, where are Tori and Dwayne?" I ask.

"She didn't feel so good. She came down but then got sick. They were sorry they had to go, but she looked really bad," Marlene informs us.

"Well, morning sickness sucks," I say understanding her perfectly.

"What about Zeke and the family?" Tobias asks and just then we hear the cheerful babble of Hunter.

"Hey guys," I say and smile at the baby in Zeke's arms. Hana and Shauna sit down across from me and Zeke across from Tobias still holding Hunter.

"Hey buddy. High five," Tobias says stretching out his arm to Hunter and the little boy high fives his honorary uncle. "That's a good boy," Tobias praises. I rub his knee under the table and he turns to look at me. He smiles and kisses my temple, before wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Long time no see, man," Zeke comments and Tobias nods. "We really need to do some guy stuff soon."

"After the holidays. I'm in no mood right now. And I'm too tired. This was a long and eventful year," Tobias says. Zeke nods in understanding.

"But we need to do something before the little guy is born," Zeke points at my tummy. Tobias nods again and then kisses my temple.

We chat with our friends, catching up on the latest gossip and discuss future projects. Tobias tells Zeke that he seriously considered introducing the fighting techniques the girls and I learned this past year to help the female initiates some more. Zeke tells us about a program he's working on to make surveillance easier. Marlene confesses that she secretly started studying to become a doctor, which I have to say surprised me but I'm happy for her nevertheless. Uriah is too preoccupied with eating his cake to talk to us. Monica tells us that she loves her new job as faction ambassador. It took her a while to figure out what she really wanted to do and I'm glad she finally found what makes her happy, along with Phil.

"I have some news too," I say and they all look at me. "I've decided a while ago to make some changes around here. These past few months, with the help of Connor and Mr. Walsh, as well as some of our Erudite friends, I put up a plan to have a library right here in Dauntless," I say enthusiastically, but no one else seems to think like me. "People, this is good news, you know the kind that requires celebration," I say.

"Why would we need a library?" Zeke asks.

"What's twelve time twelve?" I ask and he furrows his eyebrows. "Exactly," I say.

"Sweetie, we're Dauntless, not Erudite," Shauna says with a chuckle.

"Education is blind to factions. Besides this isn't so much for us," I say pointing around "but for them," I point toward my tummy first and then Hunter.

"I'm sure they'll be Dauntless just like their parents," Christina says.

"Maybe. But that's not my point. Dauntless is, beside Amity, the furthest away from the public library. We don't have a proper bookstore, which I'm planning to change, and I don't want my kids to wander around town all by themselves to go to the library. If I hear one more time they'll be Dauntless I'll kick your ass, Pedrad," I tell Zeke. "Before we even realize it our kids will start school and will need extra studying," I say.

"I agree with Tris," Hana says surprising us a little. Her sons are both adults. Well, at least according to faction law. I'm not so sure about their mental maturity. At least Uriah's questionable.

"Hey, we turned out fine," Zeke says.

"I'm not saying you didn't," Hana defends. "I'm just saying I wished we had the opportunity to go to a library or a bookstore nearby. Don't you remember all those times you had homework and we needed extra information? We had to take the train to the Erudite sector to go to the library and most times we couldn't borrow those books. It would have made all our lives easier if Dauntless had a library, at least for you, kids. Even after you got older I was afraid something might happen to you," she says.

"I haven't really thought of that," Shauna admits and kisses Hunter's head who keeps babbling on and on.

"I know. Besides, if we manage to equip the library with enough books even adults could borrow books or read there. We can take requests for specific fields and supply the necessary materials for the Dauntless readers," I say.

"You mean, you could get medicine books?" Marlene asks excited.

"Yes. We just need to send a list to Erudite and they see what books they have and could either spare or duplicate," I explain.

"Oh, that would be wonderful. I want to buy them, but most of them are so expensive. At least with a library nearby I can work and study with less difficulty. Up until now I had to go to Erudite to read and take notes."

"See? I can also ask for books on programming and other stuff we might need. And there will be also a suggestion box by the library entrance and people can ask for certain books or genre."

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Hana says.

"Will there be any fictional books?" Christina asks a bit excited.

"Yeah. First and foremost I want the books the kids need in school. From preschool to the last level, then we'll see about other books. I know you say our kids will be Dauntless, but I say it's mainly because of that that I need to keep an eye on mine," I say.

"Yours isn't even born yet," Uriah says.

"He will be in about three months. It seems like only yesterday that I jumped into Dauntless and look at me now; I'm married, I'm a faction leader, I'm about to become a mother. Uri, time flies. Once you'll have kids or expect your first you'll see," I say.

"Amen," Shauna says and both Tobias and Zeke, as well as Hana nod their heads in agreement.

We talk some more about the future of our faction but decide to meet up one last time before Andy is born. I'm due mid-March, so the guys decide to have a barbecue right after Valentine's.

After we're done eating and talking we go to the club to hang there for a little while. I won't be dancing but I do want to just enjoy the Christmas party. Hana took Hunter to her apartment and Shauna and Zeke are currently on the dance floor with Uriah, Marlene, Will and Christina, all of them dancing and bumping into each other. On the other side of the booth our group occupies Monica and Phil make out like teenagers, well, they are teenagers, but still, while I just lean on Tobias. I'm so tired, I swear I could sleep for a thousand years and it still wouldn't be enough.

"Wanna go home?" he asks, whispering in my ear. I nod slightly. Since the music is loud and the majority of our friends are on the dance floor, God knows where Lynn and Vicky are, we say goodbye to Monica and Phil and tell them we're going home and to pass on the message. They nod and wave goodbye.

We slowly but surely make our way back to our apartment and Tobias helps me up the stairs and into the bedroom. I sit down for a moment, completely exhausted after the walk back home and let myself fall backwards on the bed. I close my eyes for just a minute. But when I wake up I'm lying down properly in my bed, a comfy maternity shirt and soft PJ pants replaced my dress and I'm being spooned by my husband.

I try to sit up and look at the time, which is quite the feat with Tobias holding me down. I don't want to wake him, but it seems my intentions, while good, are useless, since he stirs and I hear his sleepy, hoarse voice.

"What's wrong? Is it the baby?" he asks.

"No, honey. I just wanted to check the time," I say. He kisses my shoulder and relaxes his grip on me. I sit up a little and check the time. It's 6.30 a.m. Wow, I slept through the night.

"What time?" he asks.

"6.30," comes my reply quickly. "I'm sorry," I say bashful.

"For what?" he asks confused and pulls me back down. I let him and snuggle closer to him.

"I promised you some action last night and I fell asleep," I say remembering that I had every intention of making love to my wonderful husband.

"It's okay," he says with a chuckle which I feel rumble through his chest. "I was just as tired as you were. We would have probably fallen asleep while doing it," he says with a laugh and I join in.

"Yeah, probably. I'm sorry, though."

"Don't be. We have enough time today. Neither of us has to go to the office and if anything might happen our phones are on," he says and kisses my cheek. I turn my head and capture his lips in a lingering kiss. When we part we stare into each other's eyes.

"Morning," I say and smile.

"Morning to you," he says and pecks my lips again. I turn around and press myself against him as best I can with my belly between us. He bends down a little and kisses it and whispers "Good morning to you too." I giggle and pull his face back up.

"Can you believe it? This is our second Christmas and this time next year Andy will be here with us," I say excited. Tobias turns around to turn on the light on his side so that we can see each other properly.

"He already is, my love," he says and caresses my tummy. I feel Andy kicking and wince. I pull my shirt up to caress my bare stomach, since I read sometimes direct contact with the belly with no layers of clothing in between calms the baby down. Just as I'm about to rub it Andy kicks and both Tobias and I gasp when we see a tiny little foot press against my stomach. Tobias sits up to see it better and quickly gets his phone and snaps a picture of it.

"That's amazing," I say as I look at the picture.

"It is," he says and stares at the spot where our sons foot pressed just a moment ago, but now it seems the little guy calmed down.

"Our parents will flip out if they see this," I say.

"Let's send them the picture," he says and I nod. I hand him back the phone and he sends a group message to Evelyn, my parents, Caleb, Zeke, Will, Dwayne and even Jack. He is such a proud father. I reach out and caress his cheek. It warms my heart that he loves our son so much already. This child will be so blessed.

But as I lie here in our bed I watch my handsome husband and desire quickly replaces any fuzzy feelings I had. I sit up and pull my shirt over my head tossing it to the floor. I then remove my pants and underwear remaining completely naked before him. He looks at me a little startled, but then it hits him. He gets rid of his own clothes and soon we're lying on our sides facing each other and making out like some lovesick kids.

I can barely keep it together any longer and push him a little so that he lies on his back. I climb on top of him and position myself over his already hard member. I stroke him a little, relishing in the feeling of his magnificent dick in my hand and eliciting soft groans from him, before rubbing the tip against my slick entrance. Tobias holds me by the hips, steadying me and I slide over him sheathing him completely. We both moan loudly and I can't believe how far in he went. I remain still for a moment, adjusting to his girth and length before I lift myself with his help and slam back down. I repeat my actions several times before I can't take it any longer and increase the speed. But as I move up and down his length I get tired. It's really hard doing this with a big belly and Tobias senses that. He sits up and presses me close to his body, but making sure not to hurt my belly, one hand is holding my neck and our lips lock. We kiss passionately and wild and I feel him jerk his hips upward. But this isn't working. I break the kiss and he is confused for a moment.

"Take me from behind," I say and he nods, his eyes dark with lust.

I lift myself off of him and turn around, remaining on all fours waiting for him to penetrate me again. To my delight he doesn't wait too long and buries himself to the hilt in one single movement. We both groan when he hits my sweet spot and then starts the rocking. He moves slowly at first but then he increases the pace and slams harder against me; the sound of flesh hitting flesh mixed with our combined moans and grunts is the most exciting thing I've ever heard. I don't think there's any more erotic sound in this world than that.

"I'm close," he grunts.

"Me too," I say and feel him reach forward to circle my sensitive bundle of nerves making me almost scream in pleasure. The combination of his finger on my clit, his pounding cock in my pussy and his lips sucking my earlobe are all I needed to fall apart and experience one of the most amazing orgasms I've ever experienced. I can barely keep myself up anymore and reluctantly detach myself from him and lay down on the bed facing the ceiling.

I breathe heavily when Tobias lies down right next to me and I have to wait to catch my breath before I can even think of speaking again. But then I realize something.

"Did you come?" I ask turning my head to him.

"Oh, yeah. Plenty," he says with a satisfied grin. "Why?" he asks breathlessly.

"Uh, I didn't notice. That orgasm was so intense I didn't feel anything else."

"I know, I could tell. Your walls clenched so hard on me I thought my dick would fall off," he jokes and I start laughing.

"You're terrible," I say.

"Yeah, maybe, but you love me," he says cocky and turns on his side. He runs his hand up and down my body and I turn around to capture his lips again. Sometimes I wonder how I ever go for a long period of time without them attached to mine.

"That I do. Very much, Tobias."

"I love you, too." We kiss on more time before we both drag ourselves out and head to the bathroom, where, as you can expect, we continue our morning workout.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I posted some pictures for this chapter on my Pinterest board. You can find the link in my profile.


	99. Chapter 99

99

Christmas came and went and we celebrated with Evelyn. It was nice having her and I could tell Tobias' relationship with his mother is where they both wanted it for a long time. He is happy to have her in his life and she is glad that he forgave her, at least enough to give her a second chance.

Evelyn arrived on the 24th just in time. I just pulled out my last batch of Christmas cookies when she walked into the kitchen wearing a lovely long knitted dress and the pair of house shoes Tobias bought especially for her, made of gray wool with three red flowers on each shoe. The first time Evelyn saw them she smiled kindly at her son and caressed his cheek before she kissed him thanking him profusely. He wanted that his mother feels welcome in our home which I support to the fullest. My parents have similar ones, but they are in the closet right now. She kissed my cheek and asked if I needed any help, but since I was almost done I thankfully declined. She then went to our Christmas tree to deposit three gift boxes underneath it.

Christmas dinner was lovely. We chatted with Evelyn about all kinds of things, but she always came back to the baby. I can tell she is just as excited as my mom about their grandson. Tobias proudly brings over the twenty eight weeks sonogram we got this week and a 3D image of our little bundle of joy. When Evelyn saw him she started crying remembering the time she was pregnant with Tobias. Their lives could have been so different if Marcus wouldn't have been such an idiot and throw it all away. They all could have been happy, all three of them, but maybe then we wouldn't be here. Tobias wouldn't have chosen Dauntless and we wouldn't have fallen in love. I know that if he would have been allowed as a youngster to faction gatherings maybe he and I would have met and fallen in love, but I'm not sure I could have stayed and be happy in Abnegation, especially the way it used to be. Not to mention Jeanine's plan would have succeeded and we might all be dead right now. I shudder at that thought.

We invited Evelyn to stay over so that we could spend Christmas day together as well. Tobias prepared one of the guest rooms for his mother, but none of us was eager to go to bed too soon. We stayed up watching old movies and talking, mainly about how cute Tobias was when he was a baby and how anxious we all are for little Andy to be born. When my mother-in-law fell asleep on the couch Tobias picked her up and carried her upstairs to her room, where he laid her down. I started to clean up the living room and turn out the lights when he came into the kitchen and hugged me tightly, a happy smile on his face. We kissed for a moment before he swept off my feet and carried me to our room.

The next day the three of us exchanged gifts. I got Evelyn a brand new phone to always be in touch with her and she got me a self knitted sweater that is incredibly soft, but I won't be able to wear it until I give birth. For Andy she knitted little booties in several sizes and a hat. They all looked so adorable and are all the more precious to me and Tobias since they came from Andy's grandma. Evelyn got Tobias something that he hasn't seen in over a decade. While cleaning the old library the faction less team found a crate with children's books. Among them was a collection of fairy tales that Evelyn, despite everything, read to Tobias when he was a little boy. It's not the same they had, but it's a copy of it. She gave it to him to read to our kids. His eyes filled with tears, both from receiving such a thoughtful gift and probably the memory of long lost times. They hugged and cried and Evelyn kept saying how much she loved him. She might have been gone for a long while, but I could tell that she wouldn't ever again abandon her son. And that made me happy and cry with them. Well, the hormones helped too. Then Tobias pulled out his gift for his mother. When she opened it she gasped. Inside was a beautiful necklace with a heart shaped pendant and a pink jewel and had the phrase "I love you, mom" engraved. Tobias put it around his mother's neck and they hugged again. It was a precious family moment and I'm sure we will share many more.

Everything in the faction and the city runs smoothly. As promised, I stayed home after the holidays. Whenever my assistance is needed I go to the office or video chat with my fellow leaders, although most days only the guys are working. Tori often comes over when she feels sick and stays with me.

The library happened too. At first the Dauntless population was skeptical, but within a month since its grand opening many adults and kids registered there and asked for more books. I'm glad they like the idea. I have to admit, the library was my secret wish ever since I came here. I really missed reading and while I could always take the train to Erudite to get new books a library right here would have been much better.

Just like the guys decided on Christmas Tobias and I will host a barbecue. At first they wanted to do it before Valentine's Day but I was against it. I didn't want to spend a couple of days cleaning up to have a nice romantic evening with my husband after the barbecue. No, Valentine's first, barbecue later, that was the deal. Thankfully, Tobias didn't mind and told the guys to back off.

So, this is why I'm currently in the kitchen preparing a salad while Tobias gets the barbecue grill ready. Our friends are due to appear any minute. My dear husband comes back inside and straight to me.

"Hey gorgeous," he says and kisses my lips. "Hey, baby," he says and kisses my tummy.

"Hey handsome," I say smiling.

"How's he behaving?" Tobias asks as he takes a beer out of the fridge.

"Like an angel. I think he is asleep. How's the weather?"

"It's actually warm, I mean for February," he says with a chuckle.

"Is the food ready? Our guests should be here soon," I say and put the salad on the kitchen island.

"Yeah, everything is ready. How are you feeling? You've been on your feet for a long time," he says and hugs me from behind.

"I'm surprisingly good. I mean despite the huge belly I feel full of energy," I say and he smiles.

"I can't believe that in another four weeks we'll get to hold our baby," he says amazed.

"I know. I can't wait for that to happen," I say and just as we reach to kiss each other our door bell rings. He groans and I giggle and before he heads there to open it he pecks my lips.

"Rain check, Mrs. Eaton," he says with a grin and I nod laughing.

One by one all our friends come over to enjoy this nice day. Tori feels better and she and Dwayne are excited, since in two weeks from now they'll have their twenty weeks check-up and find out what their having.

The girls and I stay in the living room for the day, since it's still chilly outside, talking about babies, weddings and everyone's jobs. The guys decided to hang outside with Tobias talking about whatever guys talk about.

Every now and then I feel pain and contractions, but I'm still good for another four weeks before the little guy comes. Addison explained to me that at this point my body actively starts to prepare itself for labor. She told me that I might experience Braxton-Hicks contractions, but that's normal and shouldn't panic. If they come closer together and last longer I should call immediately, even if my water didn't break. I haven't told Tobias because he would absolutely freak out. Last week I had cramps and he was already at the door to usher me out so that we could go to the hospital. He is sweet, but if he freaks out every time I feel some pain I'll better keep this to myself. It took him hours to calm down and finally believe me that I'm fine. Besides, the pain isn't even that bad.

When the food is finally done the guys bring it in and place it on the dining room table. We had to borrow chairs from our neighbors again to accommodate everyone, but they are super nice. I have to admit while it's a bit cramped I thoroughly enjoy having them all here. It'll be the last time for a very long period of time. We won't be able to do anything like this after Andy is born.

"You excited, Tris?" Dwayne asks grinning.

"About?" I ask confused.

"The baby," he says.

"Of course I am. Haven't stopped ever since we found out," I say and Tobias kisses my temple. Another contraction hits me and I put my fork down and take a deep breath. Unfortunately, not only Tobias but everyone else saw that and they are all looking at me.

"Honey, are you alright?" Tobias asks alerted.

"Yeah, just a contraction," I say.

"Contraction?" Tobias, Dwayne and Zeke ask at the same time and stand up. We all look at them and wait for an explanation.

"Where's your bag?" Tobias asks.

"Where's her coat? I'll get her coat," Zeke practically jumps up and down.

"I'll get the car," Dwayne says and runs to the door.

"Why aren't you panicked?" Uriah asks calmly as he takes a bite from his cake.

"Because it's a Braxton-Hicks contraction, they are false labor contractions. They aren't the real deal," I say calmly and take a bite from my cake. The girls chuckle and remain seated, while the three men freak out. I hear Tobias curse from upstairs because once again he can't find my hospital bag which is next to the door where he put it over a month ago just in case. But when he panics he can't see anything.

"Zeke was just like that when Hunter came. A fucking moron," Shauna says and we laugh.

"Tell me about it," Tori says. "We're not even half way through and Dwayne panics every time I say ouch or something like that."

"They are just worried," Christina says with a smile.

"Be that as it may, they're driving me nuts. Yesterday," I start saying and look at Will and Uriah "you two should go into the living room, but be careful not to stain my carpet," I warn them. They pick up their plates, knowing that the girls and I go into girly details and leave us alone. "I was constipated," I say and Shauna and Tori nod. "I must have made a sound or something because Four stormed into the bathroom and I almost killed him," I say and they laugh.

"I remember something similar," Shauna says and we laugh.

"Honey, what are you doing? Let's go," Tobias says out of breath, the bag nowhere in sight.

"Where's the bag?" I ask.

"Couldn't find it. I'll bring you one later," he says and urges me to stand up. I remain seated and look at him.

"So, you mean, you will leave me in the hospital all alone, while you get back to get another bag?" I ask as innocently as I can. He looks at me conflicted. He really doesn't know how to answer. From the corner of my eye I can see the girls stifling laughs and snickers.

"Where's that fucking coat?" Zeke yells.

"Guys, the car is ready," Dwayne says out of breath barging in.

"That's all nice, Dwayne, but there's no need for the car or my coat or the bag, because I'm fine. I'm not in labor, honey. It's just Braxton-Hicks," I say calmly.

"False labor?" Dwayne asks first while Tobias looks between relieved and exhausted. He plops down on the chair next to me and I reach out to grab his hand and place it over my belly. Andy must be asleep because he doesn't move, but Tobias always seems to calm down when he can touch my stomach.

"I'm fine, we're both fine. Calm down, will you," I ask and smile at him.

"I'm such an idiot," he says, letting out a sigh.

"No, you're not. You are sweet and loving and you want everything to be perfect for when Andy comes. But, honey, relax. When the time comes everything will be alright. I promise. Now, take a deep breath," I instruct and he does so. "And now let it out." I repeat this exercise with him and Shauna can't keep it in anymore and starts laughing.

"What's so funny?" Christina asks confused.

"Those are breathings techniques for the mother when she gives birth," she says and I glare at her.

"No, they're not. Well, they are, sort of. It helps with panic attacks," I say looking at the girls but then turn around to look at Tobias. "Honey, it's normal that you freak out. You are scared but so am I. But we have a wonderful family who will help us, so calm down. I trust you completely and there won't be a better father than you," I say and caress his cheek. He leans into my touch.

"I feel silly," he says. Zeke sits down next to him and soon Dwayne sits next to Tori caressing her bump.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, man," Zeke says to Tobias. "You love your wife and kid and want everything to be perfect for them. It's not like we kept our cool and Tris isn't even our wife and that's not our kid," he says pointing between him and Dwayne.

"But you guys are family, Tris you are like a sister to me and Tori and I guess everyone in this room," Dwayne says and my friends nod. "We love you guys, both of you," he says looking from me to Tobias "And we can't wait for our little nephew to be born. So, obviously we freak out."

"Dwayne's right, Four," Shauna says. "You might not remember it, but you freaked out with Zeke when Hunter came. You were less crazy than my man, but still, and I found it absolutely adorable. You are my brother no matter what and I love you and Tris and little Andy."

"And we love all of you," Tobias says.

"That's so sweet," Christina says.

"I think I'm going to cry," Marlene says. "Makes me want a baby too," she says and Uriah chokes. We turn around and watch as Will pats our friend's back to help him.

"You what?" he asks Marlene breathless.

"A baby. I want one," she says smiling.

"Okay," Uriah says unsure and we start laughing. He has such a panicked look on his face that I think he might pee his pants any moment. Another contraction hits me and I wince.

"Maybe we should leave Four and Tris alone. She doesn't feel well," Tori says and they all nod.

"Get some rest, sweetie. I remember those, not pretty," Shauna comments as she walks over to where I sit and hugs me and kisses my cheek. She then kisses and hugs Tobias and pulls Zeke off his chair. All our friends say goodbye and leave us alone.

When it's just Tobias and me he ushers me upstairs to lie down while he cleans up the dining room and kitchen. I kiss him on the lips and walk to our bedroom where I change into some comfy sleeping clothes and lie down. It seems like on top of these stupid contractions I have also a back pain. I try to get comfortable, but I just can't. I get up and pace for a while remembering that I'm supposed to do that to ease the pain. Tobias walks in about ten minutes after I came into the bedroom and takes his clothes off.

"If you think I'm gonna fuck you, you're wrong," I snap. I was just hit by a contraction and sit down to hold my belly. What the hell?

"Are you okay?" he asks and just as I want to reply I feel something run down my legs. I look to the floor and see it stained. I look up at Tobias who is seemingly as shocked as I am.

"I think my water broke," I say. That snapped him out of his trance. He immediately helps me into the bathroom where I step out of the wet clothes.

"I'll get you something else to wear," he says and goes into the bedroom.

"Honey, clean the carpet," I shout after him as I prepare the shower.

"Love, that can wait," he says coming back and stops in his tracks. "What are you doing?" he asks incredulous.

"Taking a shower," I say calmly. I have no idea how I am so calm, but I am.

"Now?"

"Yeah. I need to get rid of the smell and fluid. Be a dear and clean my carpet. I don't want it stained."

"I buy you a new one," he says.

"Alright. Change your clothes, you smell of barbecue. Actually, you should take a shower too," I say.

"I'm not taking a shower with you," he says.

"I meant after I'm done. Get the bag downstairs and then get me some clothes to wear, something comfy," I say and he rushes out.

I hurry in the shower I probably spend like five minutes in there. I just needed to clean myself in my groin region and wash the sweat away. I'll probably need another one soon, but I want to be clean when I get to the hospital. I step outside and he is already waiting for me with a big fluffy towel and ready to take my place in the shower. I dry myself up while he cleans himself up. I admire his strong, muscular body and I get really excited. Wrong time, Tris. I shake my head and step into our bedroom. I pull up my panties and get one of the nursing bras I bought while I call Addison. I tell her that my water broke and that I started having contractions. Unfortunately, I haven't monitored them yet, but I'll do that just as the next one hits. She assures me that everything will be ready for when we arrive. I ask her if it's not too early and she assures me while I'm still four weeks away from my due date my body knows better. I should just come to the hospital and she will take care of me and my baby. I thank her profusely and hang up. Tobias steps outside, wrapped in a towel and quickly gets dressed.

"Have you called my parents or Evelyn?" I ask him as he puts his shirt on.

"No, I'll call them right now. Where's that damn bag?" he asks as he leaves the room. He just passed it. The bag sits on the ground next to the door but he just couldn't see it. I chuckle and finish dressing. I call Tori and ask her if Dwayne could drive us to the hospital like he promised and ask her to please call the rest of our friends to tell them my water broke. She tells me that Dwayne will be ready in a minute and that I shouldn't worry about anything. We hang up and I grab my long, thick cardigan and pull it over me. I get the bag and hold my belly and walk to the stairs. I can already hear Tobias talking on the phone and by what I hear he is talking to dad.

"We're still at home. I can't find that damn bag," he says. I chuckle and call for him.

"Honey," I say and he looks up. He looks terrified and I feel sorry for him.

"Don't move," he says. "Andrew, I have to go. Come to the hospital. Call my mom," he says and hangs up. I frown.

"That was rude," I say scolding him. Another contraction hits me and I hold onto my belly. The bag is sitting on the ground next to me and I grab the railing to steady myself. Tobias rushes up the stairs and picks me up, carrying me down safely. "Honey, that isn't necessary, I can still walk," I say, but I'm thankful for his stubbornness.

"No way, I'll carry you to the car," he says sternly and I chuckle. He forgot the bag again.

"Tobias, haven't you forgotten something?" I ask amused as he walks us to the front door. He looks at me confused and I giggle. "The bag, honey," I say and point at the top of the stairs. He quickly walks to the couch and sits me down before rushing to get the bag, when a knock is heard on our front door.

"Don't, I will get that," he says as he picks up the bag and I shake my head no.

"Tobias, I'm not an invalid. I can still answer the front door. Besides, it's probably Dwayne and Tori, I called them," I tell him and go to open the door but he is quicker and truthfully our friends stand on the other side. I look at them. Tori looks sleepy, which I understand. At that stage I oscillated between being very sleepy to very horny. Dwayne on the other hand looks like Tobias, a nervous wreck that might break down any minute.

"Hey Tris," Tori says walking over to me and hugging me.

"Hey. You didn't have to come. I told you over the phone," I start saying but she interrupts me.

"Don't be ridiculous. You guys are family. I know we agreed that Dwayne should drive," she says looking at her boyfriend "but he looks like he is having the baby not you," she finishes and we both laugh at that. That's so true.

"How can you be so calm?" Tobias asks with an incredulous look on his face.

"Someone has to," I say and grab his hand. "Come on, let's have a baby."

We walk to the car in the garage. Tobias deposits the bag in the trunk and helps me get inside. Dwayne drives and Tori comes with us to make sure he stays calm. I chuckle at that. It seems our men are more nervous than we are. Tobias sits in the back with me holding me tightly to his body.

The drive to the hospital is mostly quiet, only interrupted by some groaning on my part when a contraction comes. I made Tobias time the contractions so that we know how much time passes between them and how long they last.

We soon arrive at the hospital and I see Addison with a wheelchair waiting for me. Tobias gets out of the car first and helps me out, while Dwayne helps Tori and gets my bag. I see Tobias looking confused at Addison and I smile at him.

"I called her while you were freaking out," I tell him and he nods.

I sit down in the chair and Tobias wheels me in and into the elevator. The ride is short and I keep glancing at Tobias. I know he hates small spaces, but I think his anxiety is more because of what is going on with me than the elevator. When we reach the birthing room Addison examines me and tells me I'm not ready yet, but that the baby positioned himself to be born.

The next hours are painful, both physically and emotionally. I can't rest properly because I'm anxious and the minute I calm down a contraction hits me. Tobias is a real sweetheart, doing everything in his power to make me feel better.

One by one our friends and family come in to visit and stay for a while. I'm happy I have my mom with me and to be honest she is the only one who could calm me down. Between Tobias' nervousness, the never ending chatter of my friends, Evelyn's horror story about Tobias' birth they managed to freak me out even more. Somehow mom sensed my anxiety and sat down next to me, holding one of my hands and rubbing my forehead like she used to when I was little.

"I'm scared, mom," I tell her in a whisper.

"I know you are. But I have faith in you," mom says smiling.

"Will it hurt? Everyone says it'll be fine and worth it," I say and search my mom's eyes for reassurance.

"They are right, but it will hurt, a lot. I don't want to scare you, but this is how it is. But once you hold your baby in your arms for the first time you will feel a happiness never before experienced. I know you love Tobias, but once you will hold your son in your arms you will feel like you didn't have a clue what love was before him. I know you would take a bullet for Tobias and he would do the same for you, but with your child it'll be different. You wouldn't just take one bullet, you would stand up and rip the world apart if necessary to keep that little angel safe and sound," mom says.

"I never heard you talk like this," I say with a chuckle.

"Abnegation," is all she says before she whispers "with a lot of Dauntless." I smile. She kisses my forehead and holds me close to her, humming a lullaby.

When the time comes everyone is ushered out leaving me and Tobias the only ones in the room. While the nurse preps me, Tobias walks into the en-suite and puts scrubs on to be in the room with me when Andy is born. I'm terrified.

I have no idea how much time has passed, I vaguely remember yelling at Tobias and threatening to castrate him if he ever touches me again. I remember snapping at the nurse and at Addison, but when the final part came and Addison kept saying push I pushed as hard as I could, I squeezed Tobias' hand that I'm sure I might have broken a bone if he wouldn't be strong enough and then I heard the most amazing sound of my life. My baby's first cry as he came into this world. I fell backwards on the reclined bed and breathed heavily while Tobias kissed my sweat covered forehead telling me how much he loves me. The nurse took care of Andy and asked Tobias to join her so that he sees how big our little guy is, while Addison makes sure I'm alright.

I watch Tobias as he holds our son and looks at him in awe. Tears roll down his cheeks as he tells our boy that he loves him and will always protect him. He then turns around and brings him over to where I'm still lying down and places the little human we created on my naked chest.

"Hello Andrew Evan," I say. "I'm your mommy and I love you very much," I say and kiss his little head.

"Hello Andrew, I'm your daddy and I love you too. You and your mommy are the most important people in my life," Tobias says.

The nurse and Addison have left us for the time being, enjoying this precious family moment. I look at Tobias as he sits next to me holding us both in his arms. Then Tobias pulls out his phone and takes several shots of the baby or me holding our son. I smile and tell him that he needs to be in some of them as well. Just then the nurse returns to my room and takes a few pictures of all three of us. She hands Tobias the phone back and asks him to fill out some forms while I nurse our son for the first time. Tobias hurries with the form and keeps glancing at us and when he's finally done he hands the filled form to the nurse and smiles at me. He reaches out and caresses Andy's little head and places a soft kiss to my temple. Once the baby is fed and burped I hand him to his father who is taught by the nurse how to bathe and change Andy's diaper.

I watch my family happily and despite the exhaustion I can't keep my eyes closed; I'm too entranced by the two men in my life to think of sleeping. Tobias returns with our son and lays him in my arms, while he walks out to call the grandparents. I couldn't be happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: For Tobias' POV read It's time in the drabble series Moments we Share. You can find pictures to this chapter on my Pinterest board https:// www . pinterest . com / ChristiWind /you-and-me-against-the-world-divergent-fanfiction/ (no spaces)


	100. Chapter 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Happy New Year, initiates!

100

It's been five months since my sweet angel was born. Andy is such a wonderful baby. It was rough the first couple of months until he was on a feeding schedule but by now he sleeps through the night and rarely cries. Tobias is wonderful with him. He often wakes up when I'm too exhausted and feeds him with a bottle or changes his diaper. His favorite time with his son is bath time. I often watch them as Andy plays in his little plastic tub and Tobias talks to him telling him all kinds of fairy tales and little stories. Andy watches his daddy with big eyes and laughs and smiles and giggles. He is a happy child and Tobias is a big part of making that happen.

Tori gave birth a week ago. A beautiful baby girl named Ava. Between Zeke, Dwayne and Tobias I don't know which one is the proudest daddy in Dauntless. If someone would have told me two years ago that these three would compete who's kid is the cutest I would have smacked that person. All three men are such Dauntless dudes that that scenario seemed impossible.

Hunter celebrated his first year in April and on that same day Zeke proposed to Shauna who immediately said yes. Both of them however were so anxious to tie the knot that they just eloped two weeks later. They actually called all of us and asked us what we're doing and never mind that, just get dressed and get to the Navy Pier where Connor waited for us to officiate the ceremony.

Christina and Will got married on May 20th and went to Amity for their honeymoon. They promised to be back in time for initiation, because this year Christina would take my place as an instructor. I could have taken Andy to daycare or mom or Evelyn could have watched the baby, but I just couldn't leave him. I don't know how I'll ever do that.

Marlene started her training as a doctor and a little birdie told me that Uriah will propose soon, that is, as soon as he finds the balls to do that.

Lynn and Vicky are happily living together and even researched how to get married and what that would mean. I'm happy for both of them, but especially for Lynn. I know she had a secret crush on Marlene ever since initiation, but Marlene fell in love with Uriah. Lynn suffered, I could tell; she and I sometimes talked about it. She knew I wouldn't judge or make stupid comments. No one would've, but she felt safe with me and I appreciate her trust. I knew she fell in love with Vicky long before she realized it. It was actually a few months ago when someone attacked Vicky and she almost fell into the chasm that Lynn realized it herself. She knew then that she couldn't live without Vicky and they became inseparable. I'm glad for them.

Caleb proposed to Cara about two weeks ago. It was a nice family gathering: my parents, Cara's parents, Tobias, Andy and I and obviously Christina and Will. Chris and I suspected something when Will and Caleb told us that the parents where invited but we kept our mouths shut. I am very happy for them and wish them to be as happy as I am with my family.

I'm still working from home but every once in a while I go to the office with baby and all. Whenever I'm at work Andy just sleeps or plays with the stuffed bear Uncle Zeke gave him.

I'm reading some files when I hear Andy babbling. He started about two weeks ago, no real words just sounds, but I love watching him. It's still mind-blowing how fast he grows. It seems like only yesterday Tobias put him in my arms for the first time and we took our first picture together.

"Da-da-da-da-da," Andy keeps babbling.

"What is it, baby?" I ask him smiling and get up from my seat at my desk and walk to the couch where he sits between many pillows.

"Dada, dada," he repeats and my eyes widen.

"Dada?" I ask and he smiles his toothless smile.

"Dada, dada, dada," he keeps repeating. Is he trying to say daddy? I smile at that. I pull out my phone and look for a picture of Tobias. I show it to my son and he starts laughing and repeating even more excited "dada".

"Are you trying to say daddy?" I ask and he squeals. I pick him up and rush to the fear landscape room. I hold my son tightly to me making sure I don't trip, while Andy keeps repeating dada. "Yes, baby, we're going to see daddy," I tell him and he laughs. I can't help it but laugh with him. As we reach the corridor to the fear landscape rooms where both transfers and Dauntless-born are practicing, I pick up my pace to not let Tobias miss this first in our son's life. As I round the corner I see the initiates sitting and waiting, looking dreadful and scared. The door opens and Tobias let's a girl step out, but the moment he sees us rushing toward him he walks passed her concerned.

"What happened?" he asks alerted.

"Listen," I say and hold our son up. Tobias looks from me to Andy and back to me confused. "Come on, baby. Who is this?" I ask Andy and point at his father. Andy looks at him, smiles and then starts calling for his dad.

"Dada, dada," he says. Tobias' eyes widen and his jaw drops as he hears our son's first word and it's his name.

"Did you hear that, honey? He calls you," I say with tears in my eyes. I look up at Tobias and he is just as touched as I am. He carefully takes Andy out of my arms and holds him over his head, while our little boy happily squeals and repeats his first word. Tobias grins widely and brings Andy close to his face and places several kisses on his little cheek which makes Andy giggle hysterically, since Tobias has a five o'clock shadow and tickles him.

"I love you so much, my little man," Tobias says to Andy and the girls all around us "aw". I'm too happy to tell them to mind their own business and Chris walks over to us to see what is going on.

"Tris? What are you doing here?" she asks confused, not having witnessed this incredible moment.

"Candor, my son just spoke his first word," Tobias says still amazed and staring at Andy.

"What? What was it?" Christina asks excited.

"Come on, baby, tell Aunt Christina who you were calling," I say and tickle my baby a little. He laughs loudly and then starts saying dada again.

"Dada, dada."

"Oh my God, you guys, his first word," Christina squeals.

"I just had to bring him to you so that you can hear him too," I say to my husband.

"Thank you, love," Tobias says and kisses me softly and chaste.

"No need to thank me. Besides, your son was calling you and you know I can't say no to him," I say with a chuckle and he laughs. He looks back and then turns around with a frown.

"I need to go back," he says.

"Go ahead, Four. I'll finish here," Christina offers.

"You sure?" he asks conflicted. I know he doesn't like to leave work like that, but at the same time he is as excited as I am about Andy's first word.

"Yeah. Go ahead. Maybe one day one of you will offer to take my place when my kid speaks his or her first word," she says and we both look at her surprised.

"Don't tell me," I start saying but she shakes her head.

"Doesn't mean it won't happen, I'm just saying, a favor for a favor."

"Thanks, Chris," Tobias says and gives her a side hug. We leave the corridor to the fear landscape rooms and head back home.

"Mommy, mommy," my son cries and I hurry to his room. It's the middle of the night and outside is a raging thunderstorm. The loud thunder must have woken him up. I rush inside and get Andy out of his crib. I pull him into my arms and he cries bitterly, while Tobias steps inside and holds us both.

"It's okay, buddy," he says. "Mommy and daddy are here, nothing will happen to you, I promise," Tobias says.

"Big boom," he says. It's been a rainy November week and Andy is still too small to understand that the thunder can't hurt him.

"Yes, baby, big boom. Wanna sleep with mommy and daddy?" I ask and he nods. I turn on my heels and walk toward our bedroom, Tobias holding me by the waist as I carry my eight month old son. He can't really talk yet, which is fine, just a few words or phrases.

Once inside I lay him down on the bed and he crawls to the middle. Tobias and I both get in, each on one side of our son and cuddle him.

"Better?" Tobias asks, but just then another loud thunder and Andy starts crying. I gather him in my arms as I lie down and try to calm him down.

"Don't be scared, baby. Mommy and daddy won't let anything hurt you," I say and kiss his head. I love how he smells of milk and baby powder.

"Hey, buddy," Tobias says to capture our son's attention. Andy turns his head a little to watch his daddy. "Daddy will protect you and mommy," he says.

"Hand?" Andy asks.

"Yes, with my hands," Tobias says smiling. Whenever Andy is scared of something or had a nightmare Tobias holds him and tells him that he will fight the nightmares with his bare hands. He said the same thing to me once and I'm sure he would do just that. Andy smiles a little and seems to have calmed down. He then makes a popping sound with his mouth which we learned early on means he wants a kiss. Tobias and I smile at each other and we each give our son a little peck.

The storm rages on, but inside our safe and comfy cocoon the three of us are happy and asleep.

"Gwanpa," Andy squeals when he sees my father walk into our apartment. Tobias went to pick up his mom and my parents to bring them to the apartment so that we could celebrate Andy's first Christmas together.

"Hey there, buddy," my dad says, making room for mom and Evelyn to enter as well, followed by Tobias. He helps the ladies out of their coats and then takes my dad's before depositing them all in the closet. I pick up Andy and go and greet our guests.

"Merry Christmas everyone," I say.

"Meh cwismas," Andy copies me and the grandparents chuckle.

"Merry Christmas to you, young man," dad says and takes him from my arms kissing him on the cheek before hugging him tightly to his chest. My dad sure loves his grandson.

"Hey, I want to hug him too," Evelyn says and pushes herself forward to get Andy from my dad. Dad kisses my son one more time before handing him over.

"Hey, dad," I say and hug him.

"Hello, sweetheart. Thank you for having us," he says.

"No need to thank me. It's a pleasure having you all here for Andy's first Christmas. Hi, mom," I say and hug her as well.

"Hello, my baby," she says and kisses my cheek before practically forcing Andy out of Evelyn's arms. The grandmothers sure fight over their little grandson (metaphorically of course, they get along really well).

"Hi, Evelyn," I say and greet my mother-in-law.

"Hi, sweetie. How have you been?" she asks after hugging me and kissing my cheek.

"Good. Thanks for asking. How about you?"

"Good. Everything seems to fall in place and despite a few trouble makers the faction less are happy with the new developments in the city," she says.

"Ladies, it's Christmas. Let's leave the work talk for another time," Tobias says as he walks toward us.

"Tobias is right," dad says.

"Thank you. Want a beer, dad?" Tobias asks. After Marcus' death and several get-togethers Tobias started calling my dad "dad" which I think is great. He even calls mom "mom" and when Evelyn is around it's mom Naty and because of that Andy calls his grandma Naty while Evelyn is grandma Vee, because he can't pronounce certain letters yet.

"I'd rather have a tea. It's freezing outside," dad says.

"Coming up. What about you ladies?" my husband asks.

"Tea," all three of us say.

After we eat lunch we sit in the living room and Tobias sits on the floor with Andy in his arms giving him his Christmas presents. He got several outfits from his father and me, as well as stuffed toys. My parents got him a learning game, Evelyn got him a ball because he was so excited when he went visiting with his father and a few faction less kids played with a ball. My brother sent him a toy that looks like a kiddy radio and shows pictures. When an image appears the radio tells you what it is and the kid playing with it has to repeat the word. Everyone was so impressed that by the time Andy was seven months old he could speak, not well, but still. So we got him all kinds of toys to encourage him to learn new words and we both talk a lot with our son.

After Andy opened all his presents the grandparents, Tobias and I exchange ours. It's a wonderful Christmas with my family.

"Happy birthday, dear Andy, happy birthday to you," everyone sings. My beautiful little angel turned one today. I can't believe he came into this world a year ago. I feel like so much time has passed since then, while at the same time I don't get where it went. My baby is growing too fast.

Everyone came today. The grandparents, my brother and his fiancée, Christina and Will, who are expecting (she's just five weeks pregnant), Shauna, Zeke and Hunter, as well as Hana, Uriah and Marlene, who accepted Uriah's marriage proposal on Valentine's (took him long enough to ask her), Lynn and Vicky and Monica and Phil, who are now living together.

Tobias and I couldn't be happier, especially since last week Addison confirmed us that we're having another baby, but we decided not to say anything until I'm three months pregnant, which is going to be next week. We pondered about saying something today since everyone is gathered here, but today is Andy's birthday; it's his day.

Everyone loves our little boy. Hunter and Andy are the best of friends and since Ava is now a bit older she is accepted by the boys, but Dwayne still keeps an eye on her. Since she's the only girl in their group both Shauna and I rival to win her as a future daughter-in-law. Of course Dwayne won't hear it. He actually said his little Ava won't be allowed to date until she's thirty and after he checked out the guy and he didn't care if it's any of our sons.

Tobias laughed at him but Dwayne effectively shut him up when he said he will feel the same way when he has a daughter. Oh boy. I can imagine Tobias being just as fanatic as Dwayne.

This year we have twenty four initiates; thirteen Dauntless-born and eleven transfers, no Abnegation. Once again I can't help my husband train these little shits, but he assured me he can handle it.

When we told our friends that we're having another baby they all freaked out. Christina, I think, was the most excited, even more than Tobias and the grandparents together. She was so happy that we would be pregnant at the same time. I love her, truly I do, but sometimes I just hide in my apartment because I can't take another shopping tour or conversation about babies. I love my kids, but what's too much is too much.

Today I felt lonely in the apartment so I went to daycare and picked up Andy. At first he didn't like it there, he missed me too much, but then every day he stayed there longer until he made more friends than just Hunter and now he loves it there. Plus, there are more toys there than at home.

I decided to surprise my husband since it's nearly lunch time. I hold Andy's hand, since I'm not allowed to lift heavy things, being six months pregnant and all and he walks right next to me, never letting go of my hand.

"Cameron, how many times do I have to tell you to watch your throat?" Tobias yells. Andy tugs my hand and I look at him.

"Daddy mad?" he asks.

"He is trying to teach the initiates how to fight correctly, but he is not mad. And even if he is, he is not mad at you," I say reassuringly.

"Will daddy teach me how to fight?" he asks innocently.

"Why do you want to learn how to fight?" I ask him curiously.

"Wanna be like daddy," he says proudly. Tears gather in my eyes and I crouch down to hug my son as best I can.

"You already are like your daddy, sweetheart. You are brave and selfless, kind and honest and very smart. Mommy and daddy love you very much," I say and kiss his cheek.

"I love you and daddy and baby," he says sweetly and it warms my heart that he already loves his sister.

"And the baby loves you too. Want to feel how your sister kicks?" I ask and he nods. I put his little hand where my daughter is kicking and stretching and he smiles when he feels the movement. "Why don't you go ask daddy if he teaches you to be a Dauntless soldier just like him. But make sure you call him first and don't startle him," I tell him and he bobs his little head. I let go of him and stand back up (with minor difficulty) and watch as my son runs toward his father and calls out for him.

"Daddy, daddy," his little voice is heard and every pair of eyes is trained on him.

"Andy, what are you doing here?" Tobias asks surprised and picks him up. He then looks up and sees me. I walk closer and Tobias takes two giant steps toward me. "Is something wrong?" he asks.

"No. I felt lonely so I went to pick up Andy from daycare and we decided to visit you. We can go if you're too busy," I tease.

"No, mommy, wanna learn how to fight," Andy says stubbornly. This boy is just as stubborn as his father, even though Tobias says he got it from me. I guess we both gave some of it to our son.

"Fight? Why do you want to fight?" Tobias asks confused.

"Wanna be like daddy," he says smiling widely and Tobias returns his smile.

"What is mommy saying?" he asks and looks from Andy to me.

"Well, if he wants to be like daddy I'm okay with it. It's not like there's any doubt he is just like you," I say hinting at both his physical appearance and his personality. It's like Andy is a mini version of his father.

"Okay. If mommy is okay with that, come on, let's show the transfers how real Dauntless punch the bag," he says and carries Andy to a bag far enough so that the initiates won't hurt him by accident. I'm actually more afraid for them than my son. I know he is safe with his father. The initiates on the other hand…

"Mommy?"

"Yes, baby."

"Why is sissy sleeping?" my son asks. We're sitting in my hospital bed. Not three hours ago I gave birth to our second child, Rose Natalie Eaton. I immediately wanted Andy to meet his baby sister and them to bond as soon as possible. Dad watched Andy the entire time I was in labor and once I was cleaned up and the baby was taken care of I asked Tobias to bring our son in to meet the newest addition to our family.

"She is still small and needs to rest," I tell him and caress his cheek as I hold his sister to my chest.

"When can I play with sissy?" he asks curious, but in a hushed voice.

"When she grows bigger," Tobias tells him sitting right next to him, well technically he holds him in his arms.

"Will she like me?" Andy asks innocently as he watches his sister yawn.

"Of course she will. She loves you already, just like you love her," I say and he looks at me smiling.

"You're a big brother now," Tobias says and Andy looks at his father.

"I'm big brother?" he asks.

"Yes. You will protect your sister," Tobias says and caresses Andy's head. My son looks back at his sister and watches her as she sleeps.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, buddy."

"Baby is boring. Can I play with gwandpa?" he asks and we both chuckle.

"Sure, buddy. Come on. Give mommy and sissy a kiss each and I'll take you to your grandpa," Tobias says smiling.

"Daddy, Rose is being silly," Andy says giggling. We look toward where our daughter is on the carpet in the living room playing with the wrapping paper making excited noises.

We spent a wonderful Christmas with my parents, Evelyn and the children. I can't believe we have two now. It seems like only yesterday that Tobias and I celebrated our first Christmas in this apartment all by ourselves and now I can't fathom it empty and without their happy laughter.

I am blessed having such a wonderful family. My parents are still around, despite living in another faction. Tobias has his mother around and I'm grateful that she truly wants to be part of our lives. I gained so many new friends when I joined Dauntless who are now more like brothers and sisters and I can't remember a time they weren't around.

I'm glad all my friends are happy, either getting married or having babies or just enjoying their lives. Ariel, Christina's and Will's daughter was born two months after Rose and Chris already declared them BFF's. When Dwayne came along and suggested that Hunter marries Rose Tobias immediately grabbed our baby girl and fled to the nursery. All our friends laughed and I went to check on them, while Andy entertained our friends by showing off the moves his father taught him. As I entered the nursery I heard Tobias talk to our daughter, while changing her diaper.

"You're not getting married. There's no way any of these boys is right for my little sunshine," he said, oblivious to my presence. "Daddy will make sure that no Dauntless dumbass will hurt my little girl," he vowed and while he knew she couldn't understand him I know he said it for himself. He did the same thing with Andy when he was born but when Rose came he was like a puffy marshmallow, no trace of the tough instructor I met my first day here. If anyone would have told me then that this guy will be not only the love of my life but such a softy when it came to his children I wouldn't have believed it. But as I got to know the real Tobias more and more and subsequently fell deeper in love with him this image became less absurd and more real than any other.

I am happy that I chose Dauntless and I'm fortunate to have met this man and even luckier that he chooses me every day the same way I choose him. I love him, Four ever and always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is it. The end of You and me against the world. Thank you so much for reading, following and reviewing. This was my first Divergent multi-chapter story and I'm happy and also sad that it came to an end. But as you all know, all good things must come to an end.
> 
> Someone asked me if there will be a sequel. As a matter of fact there are several already.
> 
> The drabble series Moments we share is tied in to this story, although while writing this last chapter I realized some things aren't accurate in the drabbles, since I wrote long before this chapter (such as age of the kids and other minor details). Then there are one-shots, like How I met your mother, Shotgun (as the epilogue to YAMATW) and a prequel, The Story of the Hanging Man, which is a Halloween one-shot from Tobias' POV.
> 
> And don't forget the tie-ins to the story, all of them from Tobias' POV.
> 
> If any of you want to tell me or ask me anything PM or contact me via Tumblr christiwind . tumblr . com (no spaces). Someone said he/she doesn't have one. You don't need it per se to ask me anything just check in to see my answer. I answer fairly quickly so that shouldn't take long.
> 
> Once again, thank you so much for reading and if you enjoyed this one there's plenty more from CloakSeeker. Check my profile for other stories.
> 
> Love you all, CloakSeeker  
> P.S. Check my Pinterest board for pictures for this story.


	101. Author's Note

Hello my dear initiates. I have an announcement to make. One of my readers loved this story so much that she decided to write a sequel. She asked me to help her with the story. I will do that, but let her develop it on her own. I will merely provide support and advice when needed. She already sent me the first chapter and after we work out a few things she will post her story.

The author's pseud is AbnegationDauntless. Maybe you guys will check it out. 

Last, but not least, I am very happy that so many of you have read this story and there were many who asked for a sequel. As I told you before, for me the story ended. I have more ideas for other Divergent fics which I will write or I'm currently working on, such as Divergent Guardian, but also a modern day story that I'm currently writing. I might post it soon, so stay tuned. 

To AbnegationDauntless: I want to thank you for first reading and secondly honoring me the way you do. I don't write for either money or awards. My gain in all this is to share my thoughts with you and my award comes in form of reviews from those who read my stories. To be able to help others accomplish the same brings a joy to my heart I can hardly describe. Thank you, I'm very honored and happy that I could inspire you. 

What greater gift for a writer than inspire others?

Yours,

CloakSeeker


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